Amnesia
by tsunami1156
Summary: Bakumatsu. Two young strangers lose their memories in an accident and must work together to discover their pasts. drama/angst/humor/action/romance BKxK and Kenshin-gumi new but equally bad summary
1. Amnesia

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

_Summary: Two strangers are knocked out when a carriage loses control. They work together to uncover their pasts and regain their memories. But as one of them is eager to learn of her past, full of innocence, the other begins to dread what he will find, as his clues point in a dark direction._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Amnesia**

The sound of rustling fabric brought her back to her senses. She was slowly able to hear the sounds of birds chirping, and footsteps coming down the hall. Slowly, she began to open her eyes and shut them again due to the sudden bright light. Again, she tried to open her eyes and allowed them to slowly adjust to the bright room. It was unfamiliar to her, and as she looked around, she found that she was lying on an unknown futon, dressed in a grey yukata.

The raven-haired girl glanced around the strange room and noted that it was rather bare. The sunlight was coming in through a crack in the shoji in the corner of the room. A tray was set on the other side of the room with tea and medicinal herbs. Turning back to herself, she realized that there were bandages on her arms. She moved the blanket covering her body and saw bandages on her legs as well. There were not many of them, so she assumed that she must not have been badly injured. But her head ached, and she felt fuzzy. She was about to get up when the shoji was suddenly opened. A young woman came hurrying in. "Oh, you're awake!"

The girl stared at her. "E-excuse me, where am I?"

The woman picked up the try on the floor and knelt down next to the girl. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Takani Megumi, and I have been entrusted to your care. And you are?"

"Um…I…I don't know," the girl stammered. Her face was suddenly crestfallen as she realized that she could not remember her name…or anything else.

"You don't know?" Megumi asked surprised. "You must have taken a nasty blow to the head then. It should only be temporary amnesia. Here, drink this." Megumi held a cup of tea up to the girl, who looked hesitant. "It's a medicinal brew, and as your doctor, I suggest you drink it."

The girl nodded silently and took the cup shakily. "I-I'm sorry. This is just all so sudden."

"It's quite alright. I'm sure you will be feeling a little unsteady, especially in an unfamiliar place."

"Megumi, where am I exactly?"

"You're in a clinic in Kyoto. It is run by Dr. Gensai and myself. We found you a few days ago when some strangers brought you in. Apparently, a carriage went out of control and hit you and few other passersby. A few others were injured, but only you and another boy are in this state."

"There's someone else like me?" she asked.

Megumi nodded. "Hai, he's in the other room. He only just awoke a few hours ago, but so far he can't remember anything either. All he could remember was his first name."

"Well, that's better than me," the girl muttered.

"Actually, we do have an _idea_ of what you're name could be," Megumi responded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a locket. "You had this with you. It has a name on it, so I'm assuming that it's yours." The doctor dropped the locket into the girl's outstretched hands. "Now, I'm going to just check on the other patient, but please let me know if you need anything." The doctor stood up and walked over to the shoji, pausing at the door. "And don't get up. You need to get rest." With that, she disappeared out of the room. The girl stared after her before turning her attention back to the locket in her hands. She looked down at her and brushed her fingers on the delicate letters, smiling.

"Kaoru," she whispered.

* * *

"Well, good afternoon, Ken-san," Megumi said, flashing a brilliant smile. She walked gracefully into the room towards her patient. Her smile turned into a frown as she got a good look at him. He was sitting against the wall away from the futon, which he had folded up neatly in the center of the room. "You really should be lying down, you know."

"This is more comfortable," he replied quietly.

The doctor rolled her eyes. "I doubt it," she returned. "Now, I brought you some tea which should help with the headache." She held out the cup, but he didn't move. Inwardly, she groaned, _why do I have such stubborn patients?_ "I am a doctor and am ordering you to drink this," she said more forcefully.

The patient raised his head slightly, so that she could see his eyes glowing through his bangs. He slowly moved his arms and took the cup from her. Sighing, he took a sip.

"Good. See, you just need to accept my tender loving care, Ken-san," she cooed.

"Kenshin," he muttered. The flirtatious doctor ignored him and reached for the bandages that she brought with her.

"Now, then," she began. "Let's check out that cut on your back. I want to be sure it isn't getting infected. And the bandage needs to be changed." Kenshin simply took another sip of the tea as if she hadn't said anything. Megumi looked at him and repeated with irritation, "Ken-san, do you _want_ to make this difficult?"

"Fine." He moved away from the wall and turned around so that she could see his back. She looked curiously at his flame red hair that was tied in a high ponytail. _What an unusual color_, she thought, as she moved it out of the way and removed the top portion of his yukata. She inspected the cut on his back and smiled.

"Well, Ken-san, you will be happy to hear that it is healing beautifully. Your body must heal very quickly." She began putting on fresh bandages. As she wound them around the wound, she took time to observe the rest of his back. She was surprised at how much muscle Kenshin had, despite his lean body. There was not an ounce of fat on his form, but he could not really be called scrawny either. But what really surprised her were all of the scars that appeared on his delicate frame. Most of them looked like sword wounds. She found it shocking that someone so young, presumably 18, could have so many scars. She pushed away her curiosity and hurriedly finished the bandaging. "All finished."

"Thank you," he murmured in reply. He turned around and propped his body up against the wall again. He reached over to his left side in an effort to grab something but found only air. Megumi looked at him strangely.

"Is something wrong?"

"I…I don't know," he said. "I feel like I'm missing something." He lifted his eyes up from beneath his red bangs, and Megumi was able to fully see his eyes for the first time. She was taken aback by their bizarre color. They were gold.

"Do you know what you are missing?" Megumi asked after getting over the shock of his unusual eyes.

He shook his head. "Iie."

"Well," she replied, standing up. "I will check in town, but the people who brought you in didn't mention anything that you had with you. Now get some rest. I will let you know when dinner is ready. Maybe then you can meet our other guest. I think you two will get along."

Kenshin stared after her. _Another guest?_

_

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_

A/N: This is my first long story, and I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this. Your reviews are very appreciated and please give me some ideas! Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it.

Also, note that although this is going to be set in Meiji Japan for convenience sake, the characters are still slightly AU. For example, they are in Kyoto, rather than Tokyo (you will find out why later). The character personalities will be pretty much the same, but their circumstances may be _slightly_ different (not much though). I will make sure it's clear.


	2. Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

A/N: I just wanted to clear up some things in case it caused confusion. Kenshin is somewhere between 18 and 20 years old (depending on where I go with the story), and Kaoru is still her usual 17 year old self. That's why the story is _slightly _AU, so keep an open mind. Also, I haven't decided yet who, if any, of the Kenshin-gumi know Kenshin or Kaoru, and I still haven't decided if Kenshin and Kaoru will have known each other or not. I'm open to suggestions so please give me some feedback!

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**Chapter 2: Meeting**

Megumi had come in earlier, bringing one of her old kimonos. Fortunately, it was too short for Megumi, so it fit Kaoru perfectly. The girl finished changing and looked at herself in the mirror. Although Megumi had referred to the kimono as "old," Kaoru found it breathtaking. It was navy with soft, white flowers embroidered near the hems, and the ribbon around her waste was pale yellow. Smiling, Kaoru admired herself. She tied her long, raven hair in a high ponytail, using a white ribbon that Megumi had brought her. Her bright sapphire eyes sparkled with joy as she twirled around experimentally with the new kimono.

She was relieved when she looked in the mirror that she was not so unfortunate in the looks department. But she was also disturbed by the fact that even when she viewed her reflection in the mirror, there wasn't yet the faint feeling of recognition. Kaoru paused from twirling to look in the mirror again and shook her head in frustration. "How do I not recognize myself?" Sighing, she tied her locket around her neck. Then there was a soft knock at the door. "Come in," Kaoru called.

Megumi opened the shoji and smiled, "My, my, look at you. You don't look half bad, tanuki."

Kaoru glared at the doctor and shot back, "What do you mean _half bad_?" It was almost odd how the two were already so comfortable with each other.

"Well, the other patient _might_ find you attractive, but then again, when he sees me…" Megumi started, giving a haughty laugh. Kaoru was fuming and could have sworn she saw fox ears pop out of the doctor's head.

Finally, Kaoru settled on crossing her arms and retorted, "For all you know, I may happen to be quite charming when it comes to entertaining men."

Megumi laughed again, "For all you know, you might be a weepy girl." Kaoru opened her mouth to speak but found herself too horrified. She suddenly felt a wave of panic as she realized that the doctor was right. She didn't know anything about herself. What if she _was_ a huge klutz in front of the guest? Megumi saw her sudden change in demeanor and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, get a hold of yourself. I'm sure you're fine. Besides, the young man isn't much of a talker anyway, so don't worry too much. He won't say anything mean to you." Kaoru looked at the doctor gratefully and nodded. "Come on, it's this way." Kaoru glanced at herself once more in the mirror before turning and following Megumi down the hall.

* * *

"Here," Dr. Gensai said. "I brought you these. They were my son's once. I hope they are not too big on you, but they should fit just fine." The redhead looked at the doctor gratefully.

"Thank you."

"Once you are finished getting dressed, just come on down the hallway to the room on your left. I'm sure you will be able to find it just fine," Dr. Gensai finished before walking quietly out of the room. Golden eyes followed him until the shoji closed.

Kenshin turned his attention to the gi and hakama that were laid in front of him. He reached for the clothes and changed quickly. The gi was dark green, which was a nice complement to his bright red hair, and the hakama was simple and black. Dr. Gensai had also given him a small, hand mirror so that he could fix his hair, which turned out to be quite a mess. His long red locks were currently in a tangled web of tresses. He used his fingers to neatly work out all of the knots, and then he put it back up in its usual high ponytail, or at least what he _felt_ was usual. His long bangs still covered his eyes, which glowed gold from beneath them.

There was also a cross-shaped scar that marred his gentle face. He looked at the scar quizzically, wondering how it could have gotten there. It unnerved him a little bit, seeing the scar in the mirror, which he set down abruptly. Something about the scar had unsettled him. However, he pushed the feeling away and stood up.

Once again, he reached for his left side, as if to adjust something. He glanced over at his hip and realized for the second time that day that there was nothing there. He felt like he was missing something again, but he didn't know what it was. He furrowed his brows in concentration as he tried to remember what would be on his left hip that he didn't have. But he was at a loss for what it could be and noted to ask Dr. Gensai about it later. Megumi had seemed confused earlier, but she was a woman, so perhaps she was not the right person to ask. He shrugged and headed for the door.

As he walked down the hall in silence, he paused again. _Silence_, he thought. He looked down at his feet and took a few more steps. _Still silent_. It wasn't that he was trying to make noise. In fact, he was just walking as he thought he normally would. But what he found strange was the stealth of his gait. He walked silently and gracefully. However, all day he was hearing footsteps from Megumi, Dr. Gensai, or other people in the clinic. So why were his footsteps silent? After pondering for another moment and deciding that it wasn't a big deal, he decided to continue down the hall, ignoring the lack of noise in his steps.

He could sense people in the room ahead and heard laughter. _Megumi, Dr. Gensai, and a woman I don't know_, he thought. He again ignored the question lingering in his mind, _how could I sense these people?_ He slid open the shoji and stepped inside. The sight that awaited him was not what he expected.

Megumi and Dr. Gensai he recognized immediately. But the one that intrigued him was the girl sitting next to Megumi. She slowly turned upon seeing him enter and looked up at him. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen and such delicate features. He quickly realized that he was staring and averted his gaze. Dr. Gensai stood up and motioned for him to sit down. "Ah, Kenshin-kun, come sit down. Kaoru, this is the other patient that we were telling you about."

"It's nice to meet you, Kenshin," Kaoru said smiling. She looked curiously at him, noting his odd features. When he had first entered the room, what struck her first was his red hair. It was such an unusual color. She could barely see his eyes, though, as they were covered mostly by his long bangs. He had sharp but gentle, almost delicate, features and an odd cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. She watched him stride across the room in a graceful motion until he sat down across from her next to Dr. Gensai. After the introduction, she greeted him warmly.

He looked up at her, so that she could see his eyes for the first time. And they shocked her because they were gold. This was by far the most unusual boy she had ever met. First, he had red hair. Second, he had a scar on his face. And third, he had gold eyes. Kaoru felt her day was just getting stranger and stranger.

"Hai," he responded softly. It was a short response, almost rude, but Kaoru got the feeling that maybe he just wasn't a very chatty person. Of course, given the circumstances, she could understand why.

"So, Ken-san," Megumi said smoothly. "It certainly looks like the clothes fit well." Kaoru found herself feeling suddenly jealous and glared at Megumi. _Ken-san? I thought it was Kenshin_, she thought irritably. _But then again, why should I care? I don't even know him!_ But the redhead in front of her ignored the doctor, much to Kaoru's relief. Megumi looked disappointed and then reached over for the tea. "Here, Ken-san, let me pour this for you." She moved closer to him so that her legs were almost touching his as she poured tea into his cup. Kaoru stared wide-eyed at Megumi for her directness, and the redhead suddenly looked flustered. "There, that should make you feel better, hmmm, Ken-san?"

"I can't believe this," Kaoru groaned. When Megumi looked triumphantly over at Kaoru, Kaoru realized to her horror that she had said the comment aloud. She turned bright red and stared down at her rice. Dr. Gensai decided to help the situation by changing the subject.

"So, Kaoru-chan, have you begun to remember anything yet?"

Kaoru was grateful for the doctor's efforts and shook her head. "No, not yet. But at least I know my name. I was hoping that I could go into town tomorrow and see what I can find. Would that be alright?"

"Of course! Although I must say, I do not think you are from around this area. I have been asking around for the past few days, and no one seems to know anything. But I think that getting out into the streets of Kyoto will do you good. You need some fresh air, and maybe something will spark your memory," the doctor said hopefully.

"What about you, Ken-san?" Megumi asked, finally moving back to her own seat, much to the redhead's relief.

"Nothing, but I will look around tomorrow as well."

"That's a good idea. Maybe the two of you can look around together. Or, if you'd like Ken-san, _I_ can show you around."

"Don't you have patients or something?" Kaoru muttered.

"Hmph, you're probably right. But _this_ particular patient needs me."

"I will be fine," Kenshin replied. Megumi looked at him, feeling slightly disappointed, and she ignored the look of satisfaction that had appeared on Kaoru's face.

"Fine, then. You can look around with that sweaty girl over there."

"Hey! You'd better watch your manners, Megumi," Kaoru said, standing up.

"And what would you do if I didn't?"

Kaoru sat back down abruptly and crossed her arms, frowning at the woman. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Why don't you just eat your food over there and be quiet. Ken-san and I have some important things to discuss."

"Like _what_?" Kaoru said sourly.

Dr. Gensai sighed at the situation. _Women_, he thought. It was obvious that the young redhead was quite attractive, but he was so quiet that Dr. Gensai wasn't sure what these women saw in him so badly. Shaking his head, he took a bite of his rice. He looked up and saw the redhead next to him deep in thought. "You look troubled, Kenshin. Is something wrong?"

"Iie," he said after a moment. Dr. Gensai looked at him, as if waiting for him to continue. Kenshin sighed and continued, "It's just…I feel like I'm missing something. I keep reaching over to my left as if to grab something, but there's nothing there."

Dr. Gensai set down his food and thought for a minute. There was only one reason that he could come up with, and that was a sword. But the boy was too young to be a samurai or such a good swordsman that he would naturally be reaching for a sword at all times. Giving up, he shrugged. "I don't know, Kenshin. I cannot come up with any explanation for it. Perhaps it's just a nervous habit." Kenshin nodded, but he did not feel the least bit consoled. "You know what? It's been a long day. Perhaps you two should get some rest. Then you can get up early tomorrow morning and explore Kyoto."

* * *

Kaoru was thrilled the next morning. She woke up feeling refreshed, and her headache was substantially better. Plus, this was her chance to see if she could find anything about her past. The only thing that made her nervous was spending the day with Kenshin. Although the redhead seemed nice enough, he was rather quiet. Perhaps the fresh air would bring out more of his personality.

Quickly, she got dressed in another one of Megumi's kimonos and headed down the hall. She paused in the hallway as she smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen. As she turned the corner, she felt her heart stop. There, in the kitchen, was Kenshin. Kaoru could not believe her eyes. He was stirring something in a large pot over the fire. She stared at him, _why is he up so early? And is he…cooking?_

"Ah, good morning, Kaoru-san," he greeted without turning around. Kaoru blinked. How did he know it was her? "I made some soup this morning. I think it'll be a long day."

Kaoru shook her head, "Please just call me Kaoru." Then she looked back at the bowl of soup in his hand. "Y-you made breakfast?" she asked incredulously.

"Hai." He handed her a bowl of the soup, and she took a sip. Immediately, she set it down. Kenshin stared at her in surprise. "Is it that bad?"

Kaoru closed her eyes and shook her head. "Iie…it's just that…it's actually really good." Kenshin stared at her. "What? Stop looking at me like that! I'm just jealous because I have this weird feeling that I can't cook at all."

"Well, maybe you should make breakfast tomorrow, and we'll find out."

"I would advise against that." The two turned to see the new speaker, who was standing at the entrance of the kitchen. Megumi walked in and stood next to Kenshin. "May I have some too, Ken-san? My, it smells delicious." Kenshin fumbled to fill a bowl for her, which she accepted graciously. "Thank you. I hope you two enjoy your day. And don't worry, Ken-san, I will be waiting for you when you return." She laughed slyly and left the room.

"I really can't stand her sometimes," Kaoru grumbled, stuffing her face with the soup.

"She means well," Kenshin commented.

"Can you really not say anything mean?" Kaoru asked him. He didn't respond but began to clean the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"What?"

"Why are you cleaning?"

He shrugged. "I don't know." Kaoru shook her head and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, let's go explore Kyoto." And with that, she dragged the struggling redhead out of the kitchen.


	3. An Unsuccessful Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.**

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**Chapter 3: An Unsuccessful Day**

"Which one?" Kaoru asked, holding up two pieces of ribbon. The redhead groaned in response and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _not again_. Kaoru glared at him. "We've only been in the market for an hour. If you hate it that much, you _can_ go back, you know."

"What if you get in trouble?"

"What, are _you_ going to protect me? No offense, Kenshin, but you don't exactly look like much of a fighter," Kaoru snapped back. Kenshin ignored her. There wasn't much he could really say to prove her statement wrong, and considering his small frame, she was probably right.

As Kaoru turned back to the old woman selling the ribbons, Kenshin became lost in thought. _What _did_ I do? Was I a student? A farmer? A carpenter?_ He thought hard, desperately trying to figure out what someone his size would be useful for. It wasn't like he was a midget, but he had to admit he wasn't the tall, burly type either.

Kaoru finally chose a ribbon and bought it with some of the money that Dr. Gensai had given her. Tying it in her hair, she turned to the redhead who looked to be in another world. He had an blank face and was staring off into the distance. "Um, Kenshin? I finished. Where do you want to go?" No response.

Kaoru's fists immediately clenched, and she repeated angrily, "Kenshin! Are you even listening to me?" Instinctively, she lifted her arm to slap him out of his daze but was surprised when her hand didn't come in contact with anything. Kenshin had moved in a flash without even thinking. Kaoru blinked in surprise and lowered her hand. "Are you _still_ not paying attention?"

Finally, the redhead turned towards her, "hmmm?"

Kaoru sighed and grabbed his hand again. "Come on, baka, we should keep exploring." She started walking with the intent on pulling Kenshin behind her, but he didn't move. She turned around to ask him what was going on when he beat her to it.

"Good choice," he said quietly.

"Huh?"

His eyes flickered up to her hair, and Kaoru reached her fingers up to her ponytail. Feeling the silk ribbon, she nodded in understanding. "Hai, thank you. I think it's my favorite color."

"It suits you." And with that, he turned and began walking through the market. Kaoru stared after him for a moment before quickly hurrying to catch up. His expression was stuck in her memory. He spoke flatly, and his face remained emotionless. But there was something deep in his amber eyes that struck her. _Indigo,_ she thought happily. _Perhaps it really _is_ a good color afterall._

* * *

It was midday when they decided to take a break for lunch. "Well," Kaoru sighed. "I still haven't figured anything out yet. And nothing is coming back to me. What about you, Kenshin?"

Kenshin shook his head.

"Do you want to stop for lunch then? This place looks good," Kaoru said, pointing at a nearby restaurant. The sign said "Shirobeko."

Once they were seated, a young woman came to greet them. "Well, hello, dears! My name is Sae. What can I get for you today?"

Kaoru looked at the friendly woman and asked suddenly, "Excuse me, but do you happen to know either one of us?"

Sae paused upon hearing Kaoru's strange question. "Well," she began. "We get a lot of regulars here, but I think this is the first time that I've seen you two. What are your names?"

"I'm Kaoru, and this is Kenshin," Kaoru said, gesturing at the redhead across from her. "We were in an accident and lost our memories. We've been looking around all day, but so far no one seems to know anything about us." Kaoru looked disappointedly down at her hands in her lap.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know of anyone by your name here in Kyoto. I'll keep an ear open in case I find out anything. If you'd like, you can post a sign up around the restaurant. It's a popular place," Sae said helpfully. Kaoru perked up and looked at Kenshin with a triumphant smile.

"You hear that, Kenshin? Maybe someone would recognize us!"

"I don't know," he said slowly. Kaoru frowned at him.

"Do you know what you would like for lunch?" Sae asked quickly, noticing the tension.

"Oh, um…" Kaoru fumbled with the menu, while Kenshin was distracted by noisy neighbors.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Sae continued. "First one's on the house. I'll just bring you two the special." After Kaoru thanked her graciously, Sae hurried away to the kitchen. Kaoru then turned to Kenshin again and noticed his grim expression.

"Is something wrong, Kenshin?"

He shook his head in response and said calmly, "Iie. I just sensed someone was watching us."

"You _sensed_ someone watching us?" Kaoru asked doubtfully. "How'd you do that?"

Kenshin shrugged and took a sip of his tea. But Kaoru was not satisfied with his response.

"I didn't sense anything," she said with an annoyed tone, crossing her arms in front of her.

Kenshin looked at her somewhat surprised. _Is it only me that can sense it?_ He wondered idly. He had been feeling like he was being watched all day, and it was bothering him. But Kaoru hadn't seemed to notice anything. "Maybe I'm just tired," he lied.

Kaoru felt more satisfied with that answer and replied, "Well, we _have_ had a long two days, you know. By the way, where would you like to go after lunch?"

He shrugged again, and Kaoru sighed. He wasn't being very talkative.

"I was thinking that maybe we could walk through the cemetery or something. I know that sounds weird, but maybe we'd recognize family members…not that that would really bring up _happy_ memories. But it's better than nothing." At that moment, Sae hurried over with the food, and it smelled delicious.

"Oh my!" Kaoru exclaimed. "This looks wonderful. What is it?"

"It's a beef pot," Sae responded. "It's more of a western style cuisine. My twin sister has a similar restaurant in Tokyo. A lot of people like our food."

"You have a twin sister?" Kenshin asked curiously.

"Hai, her name is Tae. We look identical."

"Oh, wow," Kaoru exclaimed. "I've never met anyone like that before."

Sae nodded, "It's very unusual. I need to get back to work, but I hope you enjoy your food. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, thank you, Sae-san," Kenshin said before she nodded and headed to the kitchen. He began eating slowly until he noticed Kaoru staring at him. "What?"

"You never told me what you thought about my idea," she answered, fiddling with her chopsticks.

Kenshin sighed and looked down at the table. "I don't really want to go a cemetery," he started.

"I know that it wouldn't be the most pleasant thing, but we could at least try. Maybe we'd recognize our names or something."

Kenshin gave her a look. "You _do_ realize that that's one of the things we forgot, right?"

"Huh?"

"I barely remembered my first name. Do you _know_ your last name?"

Kaoru immediately realized his point and blushed. "Oh…I forgot about that."

Kenshin ignored her and began eating again.

"So," Kaoru said slowly. "You don't want to go then?"

"Not particularly."

Sighing, she reached for the food. "I guess you're right. It would probably only make it worse anyway." Kaoru slowly began picking at her food, upset by the fact that her idea was shot down. Even if it wasn't really a good one to begin with, she had hoped to impress Kenshin by helping them find something about their pasts.

Kenshin looked at her, noting her obvious disappointment. "Maybe a different day?"

Kaoru's face lit up, "Hai!"

The redhead smiled faintly as he watched her quick change in demeanor. He didn't know _why_ she wanted to go to the cemetery so badly. In fact, it probably wasn't really the cemetery that she cared about, but at the moment it was the only idea she could come up with.

For the short time they'd known each other, Kenshin had figured out Kaoru was a very stubborn, independent girl. And even though Kenshin didn't _want_ to explore the graves, he hadn't come up with anything else. Plus, something in the back of Kenshin's mind told him that if he _told_ Kaoru that it was a dumb idea, she would probably try to hit him again.

* * *

After lunch, Kaoru wanted to walk around Kyoto a little longer before heading back to Dr. Gensai's, so the redhead complied. But Kaoru noticed quickly that they were taking rather unusual routes around the city.

Kenshin tended to weave tightly in between people, and she found herself almost getting lost on occasion. After she bumped into the third person in a row, her frustration got the best of her, and she stopped abruptly in the middle of the street. "Kenshin!"

Kenshin turned and looked at her in surprise. "Hai?"

"What are you doing? Are you _trying_ to get me lost?" she asked angrily, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Why would I do that?"

"You've been weaving in and out of crowds! I can barely keep up with you!"

"I—," he began.

"If you don't want me following you, then you should've just said something," Kaoru interrupted.

"Kaoru, I—".

"Do you want me to leave? Because I will if that's what you really want—".

"No, that's not it," Kenshin said quickly. His eyes darted the sides before he grabbed Kaoru and pulled her to the side.

"Kenshin, wha—".

"Someone was following us," he said seriously. Kaoru looked at him, clearly unconvinced.

"Kenshin, I think you're being a little paranoid."

"No, I could tell. They've been following us since we left the Shirobeko."

"Kenshin," Kaoru said. "This is silly. No one's following us. Why would they?" After a moment's silence, she added, "Are you _sensing_ people again?"

The redhead shook his head in frustration as he noticed the sarcastic tone in her voice. "I can read their ki." Kenshin blinked in surprise at his own words. He had just blurted it out without even thinking, but now it made sense to him. Whoever was trying to follow them, he was able to sense him somehow.

Kenshin idly mused that if _he_ were the one doing the following, he would have masked his ki in order to avoid being detected. Before he was able to think about all of these new revelations swirling in his head Kaoru interrupted his thoughts.

"Kenshin, you can't expect me to believe that. Besides, there'd be no reason for anyone to follow us." Kenshin rolled his eyes, biting back the fact that they wouldn't _know_ if someone had a reason to follow them since they didn't even know who they were in the first place. But common sense told him not to say anything.

"Okay, look," Kaoru continued. "Maybe you're just tired. Why don't we head back? It's getting late anyway." Kenshin nodded and started walking, but Kaoru put a hand out to stop him. "Why don't I lead this time?"

"Fine." Kenshin reluctantly followed after her.

* * *

He could tell she was lost by the hesitation in her steps. They had been walking for nearly an hour, and Kenshin knew that they were going the wrong direction. Actually, they had been going the wrong direction for half the trip.

But when Kenshin had suggested an alternate direction, Kaoru only glared at him, so he kept quiet. Finally she stopped and turned around. Kenshin pointed behind them and said quietly, "It's that way."

Kaoru's eyes widened. "You just let me get us lost on purpose?" Kenshin was only able to open his mouth to defend himself. "Why didn't you say anything?! Geez!" Kenshin looked up at the sky in defeat. He had been trying to avoid confrontation, but clearly that didn't work.

"I thought you wanted to lead," he sighed.

"Clearly I don't know where I'm going," she replied. "How do _you_ know anyway?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, I just noticed the pattern in the streets."

"What _pattern_? They're all over the place! Okay, just show me the way," she mumbled, following after him. Suddenly, she paused and said, "Kenshin, look." Kenshin turned to look at her, his eyes following to where she was pointing. It was the cemetery.

"I guess we know where it is now," he said. Looking at it though made him uncomfortable. He felt a sudden feeling of dread, but he didn't know why. And he didn't really want to know. He planned on putting off visiting it for as long as possible. He turned again and began walking slowly, noticing the lack of soft footsteps behind him.

Kaoru was still looking curiously at the sight. Something had caught her eye. It was a single iris that lay on one of the graves. It looked to be about a week old, and Kaoru found herself admiring it and wondering who had put it there.

She was drawn from her thoughts when she realized that the redhead had already started walking. Taking one last look at the flower, she then turned and hurried after Kenshin. They were relieved when they made it safely back to the clinic in record time.

* * *

"What did you find?"

The man being questioned took a seat. "He seems to be suffering from amnesia. From what I can tell, he doesn't remember anything."

"I see. Does he remember how to fight?"

"I don't know. However, he did sense that I was there. He lost me right after they left the restaurant."

"Interesting. So perhaps Himura will still be useful."

"Permission to speak freely?" After receiving a nod, he continued. "Although he scares me, the boy is a valuable asset to our cause. I don't know how much longer you plan on putting off bringing him back, but we are in desperate need of his skills. None of which he has seemed to have lost."

The other man sighed. "I agree with you, but it would be better for him to come back of his own free will. Telling him the truth now would only break his already fragile mind."

"Katsura-san?"

"Hai."

"Do you think that he will _want_ to come back?"

Silence.

Katsura again sighed deeply before saying quietly, "I think that he will come back. He made a promise to me, and he isn't one to break his word. However, thank you for your report, Hiroto. You are done for now." Hiroto bowed and exited the room silently.

A soft knock was heard before Ikumatsu gracefully slipped into the room.

"Katsura-san, surely you can't mean any of that," she began earnestly.

"Ikumatsu, you know what must be done. Sacrifices must be made."

"But he's just a _boy_. What if his memory doesn't come back? Will you not let him live a peaceful life?"

"Himura may be a boy in age, he's mind has experience well beyond his years. He's not naive. He will figure it out soon enough, and I would be surprised if he _didn't_ return. Perhaps this whole ordeal will give him a better outlook on things. And maybe…maybe he won't remember certain details of his past."

Ikumatsu looked at the ground in understanding. "Tomoe?"

Katsura's lack of verbal response was a confirmation of her question.

Closing her eyes, the young woman shook her head. "I heard that there was another girl with him."

Katsura quirked an eyebrow at Ikumatsu in interest. "A girl?"

"Hai. She was in the accident and lost her memory as well. Perhaps she too will be able to heal his hardened heart. I just hope that this time it's enough. I couldn't bear to see that boy torn apart again."

Katsura nodded solemnly. "With every daisho comes two swords. Perhaps he needed two sheaths." After several moments, Katsura continued. "Ikumatsu, will you speak with him?"

"Me? How? He doesn't know who I am," she protested quickly.

"Hai, and I want it to stay that way for now. However, you have done it before, and there is no one else that I would trust more than you."

Ikumatsu sighed, "Fine."

Katsura smiled, "You know what to do."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. Things will start picking up a little bit more soon. I have an idea now of where I am going with the story, and some other familiar characters (aka Kenshin-gumi) will start showing up in the next few chapters. **

**And in case you needed clarifications:**

**Please keep in mind that this story is slightly AU, so even though the characters will pretty much have their usual personalities, their circumstances may be a little different (and Kenshin is young battousai not the rurouni). Also, just because this story is taking place during the revolution, it doesn't mean the characters will be 10 years younger than normal...so Sano won't be, you know, 10 or something, Yahiko won't be a baby, etc. (They wouldn't be very good characters that way)**

**Thanks and please review!**


	4. Beginning of Revelations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.**

**

* * *

Chapter 4: Beginning of Revelations**

She didn't sleep much; she was restless. Even Katsura noticed and tried to comfort her.

"You don't need to do it if you don't want to," he had said.

But Ikumatsu knew what must be one, and so she assured Katsura that she would be fine.

Her mission wasn't physically difficult, and it wasn't dangerous in any way. In fact, all she had to do was talk. But it was what she needed to say that bothered her. Katsura had asked her to speak with Himura. That was all.

Ikumatsu wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Himura probably wouldn't recognize her, so she wasn't worried about that. And she wasn't supposed to tell him who he was, so really it was just going to be a pleasant conversation. Of course, when it had come to Himura, there was no such thing as _pleasant conversation_. Everything he said had a purpose, and he only spoke when necessary. Idle chatter was not something that he engaged in.

Even though she was just supposed to converse with the boy, she knew what was really going on. She would slowly be luring him back to his dark world. He would unknowingly be dragged back to his past, changing into the same hardened hitokiri that he was before. It was true that she was not going to tell him directly what he was, but she knew that after speaking to her, he would be curious. And he would inevitably figure it out in the end. She was fuel for the fire. Yet as much as she wanted to stop it, there was nothing she could do.

Ikumatsu wanted to lessen the blow as much as possible. Perhaps she could convince the boy what a good person he is and how much people care about him. Except it wasn't true.

She cared for him. Katsura cared for him. Okami saw him as her own son. And…of course Tomoe had loved him. But the rest of the men were just plain scared of him.

And as far as being a good person…well, he was a good boy. Yes, he killed, but it was all for an ideal. And as hardened as he had become, deep down he was still that wide-eyed idealistic youth who had shown up hoping to change the world. Ikumatsu secretly hoped that the amnesia reverted him back to his innocent self, but that would be too good to be true.

Part of her wanted to talk to HImura and convince him to leave Kyoto and go to a place where no one would recognize him. Then maybe he could be a normal child. She wanted to save him from uncovering a truth that ought to remain buried.

But that wasn't her duty. Himura, despite her personal wishes, was needed. The Ishin Shishi needed its best assassin and his unparalleled skill. He was the only one who could do his job; he was irreplaceable.

Therefore, it was up to Ikumatsu to begin pointing him in the right direction or at least begin him asking the right questions. She had to make sure that he found out about his past while making sure his mind did not implode in the process. He needed to be stable. And if she was lucky, she might be able to help him do his dirty job without cutting himself off from the rest of the world.

Maybe she could stop the mask from coming up…maybe…

* * *

He woke up sweating; it was a terrible nightmare. In his dream, he was swimming in blood, and there were bodies everywhere trying to grab him. Their faces were haunting him, and he felt like they were trying to pull in under the bloody water. The last thing he remembered from his dream was a beautiful woman who reached out a hand to pull him up to the surface. Then he woke up.

Kenshin closed his, trying to get the visions out of his head. He didn't know why he would have such a gruesome dream, and he felt a wave of guilt rush over him for an unknown reason.

A tight knot formed in his stomach, and his left hand shakily moved to his left side as if trying to grasp something for comfort. But all it reached was air. Looking down at his side, he realized that once again he was reaching for something that was not there.

Shaking his head, he stood up from his seat against the wall and left the room, heading down the hallway. As he entered the kitchen, he was met with an interesting sight.

Something was burning.

Kaoru panicked as she looked at the stove in front of her. "What did I do wrong?" she cried out in frustration.

"I've never heard of anyone burning _water_ before, but I guess there's a first for everything," Megumi commented as she walked into the kitchen. "Perhaps you should just let Ken-san make breakfast, hmmm?"

The redhead in question was sitting quietly in the corner of the room. He was torn between stepping in so that they could eat _edible_ food and just keeping out of it so as not to invoke Kaoru's wrath. And considering he had the whole day to do so, he chose the latter.

"I am perfectly capable of making breakfast, Megumi. I just got off to a rocky start," Kaoru huffed.

Megumi raised an eyebrow and reached to taste some of the rice that Kaoru had already made. As soon as the rice reached her mouth, her eyes widened in shock. "Oh my."

Both Kaoru and Kenshin looked up at her quickly. "Is it good?" Kenshin asked hopefully, the desperation clearly evident in his voice.

Megumi closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "I never knew rice could be this bad."

Kaoru immediately grew furious and shot Kenshin a dark look, as if it was all _his_ fault because he asked the question.

"Maybe you should just let Ken-san finish breakfast," Megumi suggested. "Or are you _trying_ to poison us? After all we did for you…"

Kaoru crossed her arms and sat down in annoyance. "Fine," she said heatedly.

Kenshin stared at the scene before him and inched closer to the door. He didn't really want to get in more trouble, but Megumi noticed him out of the corner of her eye. "And where do you think you're going, Ken-san? The breakfast is over here."

"H-Hai, Megumi," he muttered, walking slowly back into the kitchen. He cursed inwardly for not having bolted when he had the chance. He took one sniff of the concoction that Kaoru had been trying to make and cringed; it really was terrible. Kenshin couldn't figure out for the life of him how someone would be able to ruin food so badly.

Sighing, he began trying to fix the mess. It took a while, and it was a lot of effort, but he was able to make the food edible at least. Megumi and Dr. Gensai had hurriedly eaten their food and left to help deliver a baby somewhere else in town, leaving Kaoru and Kenshin alone.

Kaoru set her bowl aside and spoke quietly, "Thanks, Kenshin."

The redhead looked at her in surprise.

"For fixing the food," she clarified quickly, noticing his confusion.

The redhead returned a small smile, "It was no problem."

"I just don't understand…how could I be _that_ bad at cooking?" Kaoru said sadly.

"Maybe you should just let me do the cooking from now on."

"Kenshin! You're supposed to offering encouragement not telling me to give up! Honestly."

Kenshin held his hands up in defeat, "Sorry. I can help teach you if you want."

After seeing her face light up, he quickly regretted the suggestion. Personally, he thought she was probably a lost cause in the kitchen. _Really, who could mess up rice?_ He thought.

"Oh, that would be great!"

"Uh-huh," he muttered, staring down at the bowl full of food in front of him. He hadn't had much of an appetite since the dream last night, but he was trying not to dwell on it.

"Hey, Kenshin?" Kaoru chirped suddenly. She had noticed his slumped shoulders and wanted desperately for him to feel better. "Why don't we go into town again today? Just to look around and enjoy the day? No detective work."

Kenshin forced a smile and nodded.

* * *

Town was pretty much the same as the day before. People were hustling and bustling about. But it was refreshing to be outside, and both Kenshin and Kaoru were enjoying the weather. It was definitely more relaxing to just enjoy the day rather than searching fruitlessly for familiar faces.

They went to the Shirobeko again for lunch. It was the only person so far that they knew other than Megumi and Dr. Gensai, and Kaoru was anxious to see the kind woman.

"Oh, hello, again!" Sae greeted happily. "I have a table for you just over here." She motioned them over to a corner table and handed them menus. "Did you enjoy your time in Kyoto yesterday?"

"Hai," Kaoru said. "We just thought we would stop by for lunch. You're the only person we know anyway."

"Oh, it's no problem. Have you learned anything yet?"

"No," Kaoru replied gloomily. "But we're not giving up."

Sae shook her head in sympathy. "Have you had any luck, Kenshin?"

The redhead looked at her distractedly, "Hmmm?" He had not been paying any attention, and his wide golden eyes now were locked on the waitress.

Sae laughed, "I asked if you had any luck so far, Kenshin. But you just seem to be daydreaming."

Kenshin smiled sheepishy, "I've been thinking a lot. Sorry."

"It's okay, I understa--".

"SAE!" It was a shrill screech from across the restaurant.

Sae nearly jumped up in surprise and turned towards the voice. She smiled and turned back to Kenshin and Kaoru. "I'm sorry, but Misao-chan apparently needs me. She's a wild one."

"Sae, I need to speak with you," Misao cried out. Kenshin and Kaoru could hear her voice getting closer.

"You'll have to meet her soon…when she's not hysterical. You two would get along well, Kaoru. Excuse me!" Sae bowed and hurried towards the girl in question.

Kaoru looked up to see Sae turn a girl around with a long braid down her back. The girl was making exaggerated hand motions, which was making Sae laugh. Kaoru smiled. Maybe she would be able to make friends here. Maybe her past life didn't matter so much anymore.

* * *

"Misao," Sae said, smiling. "You sure know how to make an entrance."

"Okina's at it again!"

"Misao," Sae began. "He doesn't mean any harm."

"He's such a perverted old man!" Misao said, throwing her arms up in the air. Sae turned the girl around and steered her towards the kitchen to finish their conversation. "I swear he only hires girls who are fifty years younger than him!"

"Did he hire another girl to help with the inn?"

Misao nodded grimly. "And she's only a year older than me! She doesn't really do anything anyway. She just flips her hair and hopes to get paid for it. It's ridiculous."

"Maybe you're just a little jealous," Sae said, giggling when she saw the girl's face immediately turn red in anger.

"Jealous?! No way! I'm the future leader of the Oniwaban-shu! I'm not jealous of a prissy little—."

"I was just kidding, Misao. You should just calm down. Okina is just…well, he's just an old man."

Misao sighed, "I guess. But that's the only thing that's bothering me. Kaoru was supposed to be here by now."

"The girl from Tokyo?"

Misao nodded. "She wrote me a few weeks ago. She was supposed to get here about a week ago. I don't know what's keeping her."

Sae shook her head. "Maybe something came up. I wouldn't worry about it." Glancing back out at the restaurant, she saw Kaoru laughing at the apparently embarrassed redhead. _I wonder if _that's_ Kaoru,_ she thought briefly. But she quickly shook off the idea. _That would be too much of a coincidence. Kaoru is not an unusual name, and this girl is from Kyoto I think_.

"I would just wait a few more days and see what happens," Sae continued. "If she isn't here in the next few days, then you can go on your little detective adventure."

The girl with the braid crossed her arms. "I guess."

"Now why don't you go make yourself useful? Get out of here and help out Okina."

"I think Gramps is getting all the help he needs with that little whore."

"Misao!" Sae said in shock and pushed the girl out the door. "Honestly, quit your pouting and watch your mouth!"

"Fine," Misao said, waving her off and walking out.

* * *

Kaoru was not paying any attention to where she was walking. There were so many things to see. So it was not really that surprising when she collided with another body. She expected it to be Kenshin, but it turned out to be a woman in a pale blue kimono. "Oh, I'm so sorry," Kaoru gushed. "I wasn't paying any attention!"

The woman stood up, brushing the dirt off her kimono, and smiled. "It's okay, dear. I could have been watching, too."

Kaoru was relieved to see that the woman was not upset and quickly introduced herself, "My name is Kaoru."

The woman nodded in response. "Hello, Kaoru, it is nice to meet you. I am Ikumatsu."

"Oh, and this is Kenshin," Kaoru continued, grabbing the unsuspecting redhead, noticing his presence behind her. He nearly stumbled by Kaoru's abrupt action but regained his balance quickly. He lifted up his golden eyes from beneath his red bangs to see the woman in front of him.

Once she saw his face, her eyes lit up. "Oh, Kenshin, my dear! How have you been?"

Kenshin blinked in surprise, and Kaoru let go of him in shock. "Y-you know Kenshin?"

Ikumatsu shook her head, "Not well. Kenshin, are you okay? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

Kenshin shook his head. "I'm fine." Ikumatsu frowned inwardly. _He's still just as quiet_, she thought sadly.

Kaoru looked at Kenshin in frustration. She noticed the sudden sadness that showed on Ikumatsu's face and thought Kenshin was being inconsiderate for not explaining why he didn't recognize her. "I'm sorry, Ikumatsu-san, but we sort of lost our memories. That's why he doesn't recognize you."

Ikumatsu nodded. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that, Kenshin."

"Can you tell us anything?" Kaoru asked eagerly. Kenshin looked up hopefully.

The woman shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I only see you occasionally in town," she said to Kenshin. "I really wish I could be more help."

"It's okay," the redhead replied quietly, determined not to let his disappointment show.

"Honestly, Kenshin, do you even care or do I have to do all the work?!" Kaoru huffed in frustration and hit the redhead on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his head.

Ikumatsu blinked in surprise and watched the exchange. A moment ago, Himura had been his usual, reserved self, but here he was…_bickering_ with a girl She had only seen the boy this way when _another_ woman had come to inn. Ikumatsu inwardly tried to brush the thought away; she didn't want to compare the girl before her to Tomoe. More importantly, she didn't want the girl to suffer the same fate.

Ikumatsu was torn from her thoughts when Kaoru turned back to her, ignoring Kenshin, who was glaring with is golden eyes. "I'm sorry about that, Ikumatsu-san. What Kenshin _meant_ to ask was if you knew where we should start looking."

Ikumatsu smiled. This was where she was supposed to begin her mission. "Hai, you might want to try exploring the outskirts of town. A lot of times there are people who…know things, if you understand what I mean. But be careful. Those are dangerous areas."

Kaoru looked at Kenshin, who had a grim expression on his face. She wasn't really sure what the woman had meant by all that.

Ikumatsu turned to leave, bidding them farewell. "If you need me, I am usually in town every other day or so. Have a nice day."

Kaoru watched Ikumatsu walk away before looking at Kenshin questioningly again. "Um, Kenshin, what did she mean 'people who know things'?"

Kenshin shrugged, "I'm assuming she means people from the underworld."

"You mean, like black market people and stuff?"

"Something like that I guess."

"What would that have to do with you?"

Kenshin shrugged again.

Kaoru scowled, "Wow, you're really helpful." She turned and began walking away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kenshin called after her.

"Back to the clinic," she responded without turning around. "We might as well wait until tomorrow to look around. I don't want to go to a dangerous part of town when it's nearly dark."

Kenshin sighed and followed after her. "You really want to go there?" He personally didn't have a good feeling about it. But then again, when does going to dark parts of town ever give you good feelings?

Kaoru smiled, "Well, we haven't found anything here, so it's worth a shot. What do you think they'll know?"

Kenshin stopped suddenly. "Kaoru, I really don't think it would be a good idea."

"What? Why?"

Kenshin stared at her. He thought the answer was obvious. "First, it's dangerous, and I don't want to put you in any danger. Second, I don't think any positive information will come of it. Third--."

"Come on, Kenshin, please?" Kaoru interrupted, tugging on the sleeve of his gi.

The redhead looked at her with an expressionless face while she pouted.

"Okay, fine. To your second point, maybe those kinds of people will just know the gossip in Kyoto. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's anything bad. And to your first point, honestly, Kenshin, where's your sense of adventure?"

Kenshin winced at the last statement. He felt a twinge of irony for some unknown reason. It wasn't that he was afraid of being in a dangerous area; in fact, he was pretty sure he could handle himself fine. But he didn't want _Kaoru_ to be in danger, and with her stubborn personality, there was no way he could go without her.

But what also upset him was the unsettling feeling in his gut. He felt like this was some sort of trap to lure him somewhere, and he didn't like feeling like he was taking bait. On the other hand, there was no way Kaoru would leave him in peace if he continued to refuse to go.

"Fine, I'll go with you tomorrow," he said grudgingly.

Kaoru's face lit up immediately. "Oh, good! Come on, Kenshin, let's hurry home for dinner. Maybe you can help me cook something."

Kenshin groaned as the girl grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowd.

* * *

Ikumatsu started to feel the guilt as soon as she had turned away. Sure, she hadn't led them into any danger (at least, no physical danger anyway). The area that she had pointed to was not home to criminals; it was home to the poor. The people who lived in that area were mostly families who were struggling to make ends meet, and it was all because of the oppressive government. The Ishin Shishi was fighting for justice to save these dying citizens.

One of Katsura's initial plans for luring Himura back to the Ishin Shishi was to show him the injustice of the current government and reignite the boy's ideals. It was his hope that Himura would decide he wanted to help change the world, and with that, come back with his assassin's blade. Katsura knew that the only way Himura would want to return would be for him to remember just what he was fighting for.

Ikumatsu shook her head. She was torn between disgust and pride. She was disgusted for potentially luring the boy back into darkness, but she was proud that she was able to help Katsura for once. For the second time that day, she found herself only hoping that maybe this time things would be different.

* * *

He was pacing the dojo again, muttering to himself. Questions were racing through his head. _Where is she? Why hasn't she written? Is she safe? _

This was how Sano found him when he stepped into the dojo, looking for his usual free lunch. "Oi, kid, what's wrong?"

The boy looked up from his pacing. "I don't know where she is."

"Who, Jou-chan?"

The boy nodded and resumed his pacing.

After watching for a few moments, Sano scratched the back of his head. "Uh, Yahiko, didn't she leave a few weeks ago?"

"Exactly!" Yahiko threw his hands up in the air. "She left and said she was going to write a letter as soon as she arrived in Kyoto so that I would know she got there safely. But it's been a few weeks now and still no letter."

Sano stared at an exasperated Yahiko before bursting out in laughter.

"What's so funny?" Yahiko muttered angrily.

"You. Worried about Jou-chan." Soon Sano was clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground in hysterics.

Yahiko didn't find it so funny. "It's not funny, Sano, she could really be in trouble."

"Oh, come on, Yahiko. She's with the weasel. Of course, they're in trouble."

"Being with Misao doesn't give her permission to leave me in the dark!"

Sano put a hand on his shoulder and spoke seriously, "Look, I know you're worried about her, but she's a big girl. She can handle herself. Why are you so worked up anyway?"

Yahiko shook his head. "It's just that…she took me in, so now she's all I have. She's the closest thing to a family I've got. She's like a sister to me, and I don't want to lose her."

Sano looked at the boy and realized for the first time just how much those two really cared about each other despite all their bickering. He shook his head. They really were like brother and sister. "Alright, I'll tell you what. Why don't we just go to Kyoto ourselves? I haven't been there in a while, and I've got nothing else to do."

Yahiko looked at him gratefully. "Thanks."

"Get packed. We can catch the ferry tonight." Sano walked slowly towards the door. "Besides, I can go gambling there. Maybe I'll have tourist's luck."

"It's _beginner's_ luck, idiot," Yahiko retorted.

"Yeah, whatever."

* * *

Kenshin's eyes snapped open. _Nightmares again_. He shook his head and instinctively reached to his left hip, groaning as he did so, realizing the mysterious, impulsive action yet again. _Why do I keep doing that?_ He asked himself in frustration.

The redhead stood up in the dark and silently walked outside for some fresh air, mind full of thoughts. He thought back on the woman Ikumatsu earlier, wondering why he was felt an odd feeling of familiarity for her. Of course, she had said that she knew him, but earlier that day, he had not felt any connection. Now, however, after the nightmares, he couldn't get her out of his head.

Kenshin looked down the dark road. No one was out, and it was probably 3 in the morning. He didn't know why, but his feet started carrying him down the street…toward the outskirts of town where Ikumatsu had pointed.

_Kaoru's going to kill me for going without her_, he thought. He shook the guilt, figuring he could just pretend tomorrow. After walking slowly in the shadows, he grew impatient and took off at a run. The normal hour-long walk took him less than ten minutes at his fast pace, and he arrived without breathing hard.

Upon arrival, Kenshin quickly surveyed the area, careful to stay out of sight and search for any trouble. He didn't sense anyone's ki as he slowly made his way down the alleys. He could hear babies crying and men and women fighting in hushed voices. The part of town didn't seem dangerous. Rather, it seemed worn down.

All of the homes were falling apart, and there were a few people sleeping in the streets. Kenshin shook his head in disapproval. It was clearly a very poverty-stricken area.

Continuing his silent stroll, he stopped cold at the disturbing sight in front of him. There were two small children – a boy of about 4 and an older girl of about 8. They were huddled beside an empty barrel in one of the alleys, and the girl was holding the boy tightly, listening to his soft snores.

The little girl looked up at him with sad eyes and whispered, "Shhh, he's asleep." The redhead blinked in surprise. The girl, he assumed, must have been an older sister, but why was she out here without her parents?

The girl continued to look at him for several moments before speaking again. "Are you waiting for your mommy, too?"

"What?" Kenshin asked, equally quiet.

"Your mommy. My mommy has to work tonight so we can get bread tomorrow. She said we should stay here like good children. You should, too. I don't think your mommy would want you out on the street at night; it's not safe." Kenshin didn't know how to respond to this girl. She was very talkative.

"Are you alone?" Kenshin asked.

The girl nodded. "My mommy works a lot since my daddy died. But…we still can't get enough food," she finished sadly.

The silence was interrupted as the little boy coughed in his sleep.

The girl smiled tearfully, "My little brother is sick, too. Mommy says once the revolution is over, everything will be okay. She says there are people fighting to help us."

Kenshin's eyes widened at the girl's mature words. She didn't seem like a normal 8-year-old girl. But then again, who could be a normal child when they lived on the streets like this? He was about to say something when he felt a presence and heard footsteps.

A woman was walking quickly, and the redhead could hear her quiet whispers. "Those Shogunate dogs."

"That's my mommy," the girl whispered urgently. "You should go find yours."

Kenshin quickly jumped onto the roof of the building so that the woman wouldn't see him. He watched the reunion in silence; it was a painful scene to see. He didn't understand how this poor family could survive like this.

He jumped from roof to roof, not wanting to see any more of it. A part of him was begging for him to do something about it, but he couldn't see how he would be of any use. What kind of government would allow its citizens to live in poverty in the streets? So that little children were alone at night?

His mind was in so much disarray that when he jumped back onto the street, he found himself collide with a man. "G-gomen," he sputtered quickly, mentally kicking himself for not having noticed the man's presence.

"Huh? Oh, it's okay, kid," the man replied, getting up from the ground and brushing himself off. When he looked up at Kenshin, there was a quick flash of recognition on his face before it quickly disappeared. Kenshin missed it as his eyes were focused on the ground, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"What are you doing out here so late?" The man asked.

"I…I…um," Kenshin began. He was interrupted by the cries of a baby in the distance. The redhead looked nervously in the direction of the noise and saw another sleeping figure in an alley across the street. He visibly paled.

The man noticed his reaction and sighed. "First time over here, kid?" When Kenshin remained silent, the man continued. "The government's doing little to help over here, preferring only the upper-class citizens. Farmers and ordinary people are struggling to make a living."

"So these people are suffering as a result?" Kenshin asked softly.

The man nodded, "The Ishin Shishi is working to help, but it's a difficult battle."

Silence. "Is there anything I can do?"

The man hesitated, trying to find the right words. "Hai, I think there is."

The redhead looked up anxiously. "What? What can I do then?"

The man turned around before replying, "Oh, I think you'll figure it out soon enough." Kenshin watched as the man walked quietly away into the darkness, finally connecting this man's ki to the that of the man who had been following him the other day.

A soft sound accompanied the mysterious man's footsteps – a sound of clanging metal. It was a familiar noise. As Kenshin focused his trained eyes on the source of the clatter, they widened. _Swords_.

* * *

The man smiled, mentally patting himself on the back. He didn't think he'd be able to do it, but Katsura had entrsuted him with the job. Talking to the cold hitokiri terrified him. Even this innocent version still scared him, if not more. Sure, the boy didn't know who he was or what he was capable of, but the Hiroto knew his potential.

In a way, it was almost scarier talking to the kid. He shook his head in disbelief. _He's not a kid_, he reminded himself. But just now that was exactly what the redheaded assassin had seemed to be. _It won't last long though...too bad really_. _He almost reminded me of my little brother_.

Again, Hiroto shook his head, trying to remind himself of what he was saying. The battousai was no child and was _not_ like his little brother.

It was only a matter of time before the memories came flooding back. And then the cold-hearted assassin of legend would return. The only thing that gave the man any relief was the hope that, with the assassin, would also come the end to the war.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter even though things have been moving pretty slowly. It's going to pick up a lot more now, and the drama and secrets are going to start to unfold. And don't worry, Kenshin's going to start kicking ass pretty soon...Please review! I need some encouragement for this. And thanks for reading my story!**


	5. Cheerful Reuinions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.**

_Things are starting to develop more now, and I promise some action is coming in the next few chapters!_

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Cheerful Reunions**_

Kaoru awoke and headed groggily to the kitchen, expecting the usual aroma of a delicious breakfast to reach her nose. But she was disappointed as she strolled into the room. There was no one there…specifically, there was no _Kenshin_ there. Kaoru's brows furrowed in confusion, and she padded back down the hall towards his room.

Kenshin sat in the corner of his room deep in thought. The events of the previous night had greatly troubled him. _That man_, he thought. _He said I could do something to help…but what?_ The swords, too, were among the main focuses of his troubled thoughts. Abruptly, Kenshin glanced up, noticing the familiar sound of footsteps stop hesitantly outside his door. He sighed, realizing that he hadn't made breakfast yet. Kaoru was probably worried that he wasn't up as usual.

He stood up and swiftly opened the shoji to reveal a surprised Kaoru.

"Oh, Kenshin," she stammered. "I was about to wake you. Are you feeling alright?"

Kenshin lowered his eyes, covering them with his bangs. "Hai," he replied.

"Are you hungry?"

"I was just about to make breakfast."

Kaoru watched the redhead move past her. He seemed to be acting rather odd, but maybe he was just tired. She shrugged it off and followed quickly after him into the kitchen. "So," she began slowly. "What do you want to do today?"

Kenshin knew the implication behind her words. She wanted to go to the outskirts and clearly planned to dance around the subject until he conceded. He desperately didn't want to return there and needed to find something else to distract her from it. "Perhaps we could go to the cemetery."

Kaoru blinked in surprise. That had not been the answer she expected. In fact, she wanted to go to the outskirts of town, but maybe Kenshin had forgotten about that. However, she had also wanted to go to the cemetery, so she could always settle for that for now. Nodding, Kaoru smiled, "Hai, that sounds like a great idea. Can we stop at the Shirobeko for lunch to see Sae again?"

Kenshin nodded and continued to prepare breakfast, as Megumi and Dr. Gensai came in.

* * *

"Sometimes I don't understand you," Yahiko muttered, shaking his head. He had his arms folded and closed his eyes, ignoring the idiot next to him. Sano was sitting in the seat, stiff as a rock with two hands grasping the cloth.

"I just don't like trains, okay?" Sano responded irritably.

"It was your idea, you know."

"Only because it's so much faster than walking!"

Yahiko sighed, "Stop it, you're embarrassing me."

"_I'm_ embarrassing?! You're the one wearing a wooden sword on your back!"

Yahiko jumped up, "I don't think that's why we're getting weird looks. You look like a big baby sitting there! Aren't you supposed to be the responsible one?"

"If I knew what I was getting into, I would never have suggested this," the ruffian muttered.

"We didn't have a choice. Kaoru could be in trouble," Yahiko reminded him.

Sano relaxed visibly, "I know. Once we get to Kyoto we'll find Misao, and I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I hope so," Yahiko said slowly.

The train finally came to a stop, and Sano looked around frantically. "What's going on?!"

"Relax, Sano, we're here."

"Oh." As soon as the doors opened, Sano burst through, grateful to be on solid ground. Yahiko followed behind, muttering about idiotic rooster-heads.

They quickly began heading toward the Aoiya, where they were sure to find Kaoru.

* * *

They had been strolling through the cemetery for about two hours now and had found nothing. It wasn't a particularly large space, but there were a lot of memorials. Kaoru wanted to read every one of them, which was clearly irritating the redhead who was completely uncomfortable with the idea to begin with.

His mind was elsewhere anyway. He kept thinking about that night and the poor children sleeping in the alleys. He shook his head in frustration, unable to come up with a way to help. The man had said he'd figure it out, but so far nothing came to mind. The only thing that he could think of was the set of swords.

_Swords_, he thought. A daisho was worn at the left hip, and Kenshin found this to be an interesting fact considering his apparent habit of frequently reaching for his left hip. _Is that the connection?_ _Can I wield a sword?_ Kenshin looked down at his hands in curiosity. They were suspiciously callused.

Other discoveries seemed to fall perfectly into place as well. For example, the redhead tended to walk silently and keep to the shadows. He could expertly weave through crowded streets without touching a single person. His senses were impeccable, and he could sense other people's ki. He was also a very fast runner, and his reflexes were abnormal. But did that make him a swordsman?

He had to admit that he was of a rather small build, despite his definite muscle. And he was only about 18 years of age. How could someone so young be a strong fighter?

But everything had made him all the more curious. Making up his mind, Kenshin decided there was only one way to test his idea. Could he fight? Only a sword would answer that question.

"Kaoru," he said quietly. She was bent over yet another memorial, reading the plaque.

"Hai, Kenshin?"

"I just realized that I left my money at the clinic," he lied.

Kaoru stood up and looked at him in surprise. It wasn't like him to forget anything. "Oh, do you want to back and get it?"

"Hai, if that is alright." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to have her permission, but it just seemed right.

Kaoru nodded. As he turned to walk away, he noticed Kaoru make a move to follow him.

"It's okay, Kaoru. You can stay here and look around a little more. I'll meet you at the Shirobeko." He knew how much she wanted to keep looking around, but he didn't think he could look at another tombstone. Plus, there was no way he wanted her with him if he was looking at swords.

"Okay," she said cheerfully. "I'll meet you there."

Kenshin quickly turned around and headed down the road. He wasn't sure exactly where to go. But a familiar woman's form caught his attention. Ikumatsu.

* * *

"Nothing!" Kaoru said angrily. She swore she had read everything in this cemetery, and she didn't recognize a single name. In her frustration, she sat at the base of a tree and sighed. She was sure that she would figure something out while she was here.

Kaoru heard a few birds fly past her, chirping, and she watched their carefree forms disappear in the distance. Out of the corner of her eye, there was a beautiful flower, which she quickly recognized as the same one she had seen the other day. It was a little more wilted now but beautiful just the same. Standing up, Kaoru wandered curiously over to it.

The flower stood out among the monotonous stones that lay on the ground. She knelt down to read the gravestone, like she had all the others. "Yukishiro Tomoe." She looked at the grave affectionately. Something about that name tugged at her heart. The stone claimed that she died at the age 18. "So young," Kaoru whispered.

She reached out to touch the stone when she realized that there was a worn piece of paper underneath the flower. Curiously, Kaoru picked it up and unfolded the parchment. "Terrible handwriting," she muttered. The handwriting was worn, barely legible, and only said a few words, "A sheath to hold back the madness."

"Strange," she said. She suddenly realized that she had been lingering at the grave for a long time, and it was nearly lunch. "Oh no!" Quickly, she tucked the paper into her kimono without thinking and hurried off towards the Shirobeko.

* * *

"I wondered when you would come find me again," Ikumatsu said quietly. She had pulled the redhead into the nearest alley.

"What are you playing at?" Kenshin asked, almost angrily.

Ikumatsu ignored his question, "There are a lot of people suffering under the current government."

Kenshin remained silent.

Ikumatsu sighed. Trying to converse with the boy was like talking to a rock. "What did you think?"

"I…want to help."

"There is something you can do." The redhead continued to stare at her, waiting for her to continue. "Go to the shrine on the north side of town."

Kenshin rolled his eyes, "You really like to make things difficult."

Ikumatsu crossed her arms, "I'm not going to spoon feed you information; it isn't my place. If you want to help, then just go to the shrine and everything will be clear."

Kenshin bit back a retort and simply said, "Fine."

"Now, I must go, but I suggest you get there quickly," Ikumatsu finished, leaving the alley and disappearing amidst the crowds. Kenshin watched her retreating form and weight his options. He looked up at the sun and realized that it was almost lunch. _Kaoru's going to kill me_, he groaned inwardly. He looked to the left in the direction of the Shirobeko but turned in the opposite direction towards the shrine instead, hastily maneuvered through the crowds.

When he reached the shrine, there was no one around. It was slightly unnerving, and the shrine appeared to have never been used. However, he sensed a hostile ki nearby and felt the approach from behind. With godlike speed, he turned around and skillfully pinned the unsuspecting man against a wall, all while drawing the opponent's wakizashi from the sheath and pressing it against his neck. "Who are you?"

The man looked at him with wide eyes. It was then that Kenshin recognized him as the man from the previous night. "I'm not your enemy," the man choked out from beneath the threatening blade.

"And why should I believe you?"

"Ikumatsu sent you here because you wanted help, did she not?" The amber-eyed youth didn't flinch but continued to stare at him with an expressionless face. "Do you want to know how?"

Kenshin finally relaxed his hold and stepped away from the man guardedly. He continued to hold the sword dangerously. "And how would that be?"

The man nodded at the blade in Kenshin's hand. "With that. The rebel forces are getting closer to finally overthrowing this government, but we still need all the help we can get. Your skills are immeasurable. Lend your skill to our cause and help stop the oppression."

"How can I help with a single blade? What makes you think I can even make a difference?" Kenshin clearly did not believe him.

"I am one of the Ishin Shishi's most valuable swordsmen. Yet you pin me with my own blade in a matter of seconds before I can even unsheath my katana. A normal human being's single sword may not make much of a difference, but yours…that's another story."

Kenshin didn't like the feeling that this man knew more about him than he knew himself. "Maybe that was just luck," he said defensively.

The man laughed, "You are not very confident. Tell me, how much memory _did_ you lose?" Kenshin remained unresponsive. The man sighed, "I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but there are some things that you need to know. First, I know you, and you used to know me before you lost your memory. Your name is Himura Kenshin. Second, you are the best swordsman in Japan. And third, up until about a week ago with the accident, you were a fighter and assassin for the Ishin Shishi. You were single-handedly bringing about an era where people could live in peace. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have even made this much progress."

The information was overwhelming, and the redhead tried and failed to hide his shock. "If that's true then why did it take you so long to tell me?" he suddenly asked angrily.

The man shrugged his shoulders, "Katsura's orders. He didn't want to force you to return against your will. Your job is not an easy one, but you are also the only one qualified."

Kenshin looked at the ground and lowered the wakizashi in hand. He could sense that the man before him was telling the truth, and the name Katsura had hit some chord within him.

"So what is your decision? Will you return?" the man pressed.

Amber eyes lifted slowly from beneath red bangs and regarded the man before him. The man quickly felt unnerved under the piercing gaze from the youth before him. The innocence of the youth was lost and replaced by the cold exterior of the hitokiri he had known before. "In order to create a new era, I will return my services."

"Good. I know it's soon, but here's your assignment," the man continued, handing Kenshin a black envelope and sheathing his wakizashi that he was finally given back. As the man turned to leave, the redhead looked up quickly, panicked.

"Wait! My daisho--," he began.

"It'll be in your room at the clinic. One of Katsura's men delievered it earlier disguised in a medicine box. You'll know, trust me." With that, the man disappeared.

The redhead opened the envelope that felt strangely familiar in his hands. He read the name, the time, and the location, noting Katsura's signature at the bottom. Instinctively, he burned the envelope in a lit candle by the old shrine. It was odd how natural all of this suddenly seemed.

Kenshin sighed and looked up at the blue sky. The sun was progressing in the sky. _Kuso!_ He thought as he realized he was over an hour late meeting Kaoru for lunch. He took off at a sprint along the rooftops, temporarily forgetting the recent events.

* * *

"Oh my god, oh my god, I'm so glad you're here!" Both Sano and Yahiko felt themselves being tackled by an energetic Misao. She threw herself upon them as soon as they had arrived at the Aoiya.

"Geez, ugly, I can't breathe!" Yahiko shouted, trying to pry himself away from her tight embrace. Sano had managed to sneak out of the hug just in time.

"What did you call me?" Misao immediately screeched.

"Hey, hey, we just got here," Sano said in an effort to stop an impending verbal battle between the two. While they were certainly good friends, Misao caused Yahiko to bicker even more than Kaoru, which was a difficult feat.

After Sano managed to get the two away from each other in peace, he turned to the girl. "Oi, is Jou-chan here?"

Misao blinked at him in surprise. "Huh? No, I assumed she was with you guys. Wasn't she supposed to be here at least a week ago?"

Sano felt his stomach drop, and Yahiko's eyes grew wide at Misao's words. "You mean, you never saw her?"

Misao shook her head.

Yahiko's hands clenched into fists as he tried to hold his anger in check. "So you mean to tell me that you don't know where she is? She could be anywhere! She's probably in trouble! Why hasn't the Oniwabanshu been looking for her?"

Misao stepped back, "Hey, I thought that maybe I got the dates wrong. Don't blame this all on me! Besides, I already asked around a little bit. Sae hasn't seen her either, and she sees _everyone_ in town at the Shirobeko."

Sano's brows furrowed in thought. "Hmmm, interesting."

"What?" Misao and Yahiko eagerly asked in unison.

"Do you mean the Shirobeko like the Akabeko in Tokyo? I wonder if I can start a tab there," he continued, scratching the back of his head.

His head was instantly met with a hit by a bokken as Yahiko glared at him. "Kaoru's missing and all you can think about is food? You really _are_ an idiot."

"Well what do you suggest?" Sano asked defensively. "I can't think right now anyway; I'm too hungry."

Misao snapped her fingers, "Why don't we go to the Shirobeko then for lunch? We're not getting anything done standing here fighting anyway. I'm starved!"

The three agreed and headed to the nearby restaurant.

When they arrived at the Shirobeko, Sae greeted them. "Hey, Sae!" Misao said cheerily. "These are my friends, Sano and Yahiko, from Tokyo. They're friends with Kaoru, the girl I was telling you about the other day."

"Oh, well, hello! It's nice to meet y'all," Sae replied, smiling.

Sano stared at her before murmuring to Yahiko, "She looks just like Tae." The youngster nodded.

Sae noticed their strange looks. "I'm Tae's twin sister. Do you know her?"

Instead of replying, Sano and Yahiko continued to murmur about how Sae and Tae were so strangely similar. Misao rolled her eyes. "They're not the brightest," she said to Sae, who began leading them to a nearby table.

"Well, if you need anything, let me know." With that, Sae disappeared into the kitchen.

As the three friends decided on their order, a shriek was heard from a table at another part of the restaurant.

"You're late!"

"What was that?" Yahiko asked, looking at Sano expectantly, who was the only one tall enough to peer across the restaurant. Sano saw a high red ponytail backing up towards a booth, followed by a black ponytail with an indigo ribbon.

He couldn't make out the words coming from the redhead, but it sounded like whoever it was was on the losing side of the argument.

The girl continued, "I was so worried! What if something happened to you?" She huffed and exclaimed, in a slightly quieter voice, "I don't care if you _had things to do_. Honestly, Kenshin."

Sano was just thinking about how strangely familiar the voice sounded when Sae came hurrying over with some tea. "There they go again," she said laughing. "They're such a cute couple."

"A couple?" Misao asked curiously.

"Well…_I_ think they are or _should_ be anyway," Sae continued. "And such opposites. They just showed up about a week ago. Kaoru reminds me a lot of you, Misao. She's a loud, determined, and loving girl. And Kenshin…he's much quieter but just as stubborn. His eyes, though, have something about them that makes me sad. I don't know what it is."

Sae was suddenly quiet in her thoughts, but Misao had jumped up on her seat. "Did you just say _Kaoru_?"

"Huh? Oh yes, she's the girl I was telling you about, remember?"

"And you didn't feel the need to MENTION that to me?! You _know_ I've been looking for her!" Misao screamed.

"I didn't think it was the same person," Sae began.

"Oh my god," Misao muttered, hurrying away from the table with Sano and Yahiko close behind.

* * *

"You're late!" Kenshin groaned inwardly; he had been expecting this. Of course, it _was_ his fault for being an hour late for lunch.

Kaoru was advancing on him quickly, and he felt himself being pushed up against a wall. Out of all the things to be afraid of, who would have thought a teenage girl would be one of them?

"I'm sorry, Kaoru, I already told you," he started.

"I was so worried! What if something happened to you?" she continued, ignoring his pleas.

"I had things to do."

She huffed in indignation. "I don't care if you _had things to do_. Honestly, Kenshin." Finally, she sat down at the table, much to the redhead's relief. He had already had a lot of stressful things happen that day.

In an effort to change the subject, he asked, "Did you find anything after I left?"

Kaoru paused a moment before answering hesitantly, "No, not really. Nothing that has to do with us anyway." She didn't really want to mention the note or Tomoe's grave, as it was really a silly thing for her to be interested in as it was just a random young woman. "What about you? What exactly _were_ you doing?"

Kenshin felt pressured by Kaoru's impending interrogation. In his haste in trying to get to the restaurant fast enough he had not devised an alibi. He opened his mouth to come up with something when he felt an angry presence coming near them.

He wished he had his swords, but as the source of the flared ki reached their table, he realized that they would not be necessary. There before him stood a short girl in a ninja outfit with a long black braid trailing down her back. Her hands were on her hips, and a triumphant smile had just appeared on her face.

"Ah-hah! I found you, Kaoru! How long have you been here without telling me?!"

Kaoru stared in shock at the girl in front of her. She glanced at Kenshin, who seemed to be just as surprised as she.

After several moments of silence passed, the short girl's grin slowly disappeared from her face, and her arms fell from her hips. "Kaoru? You didn't forget your best friend, did you?"

A tall man with a red bandana and a young boy with a wooden sword strapped to his back stepped from around the corner. "Oi, Jou-chan!" the ruffian grinned.

"Hey, busu!" the boy said.

"I-I'm sorry," Kaoru started. "But who are you?"

To say that the three were shocked would be a severe understatement. They were floored. How had Kaoru forgotten her closest friends?

"Kaoru, what's wrong with you?" Misao asked worriedly. "Why don't you remember us?"

Kaoru shook her head. "I'm sorry, I was in an accident a week ago and lost my memory. Do I know all of you?"

Misao looked at her sadly before nodding in understanding. "Now that you mention it, Sae did say something about that before. It's okay, Kaoru. I'm Misao, and I live at the Aoiya. This is Sano, the freeloader who tries to eat all your meals at your dojo, and this is Yahiko. He's your studnet."

"M-my dojo? And…my student?"

"Yep, in Tokyo. You're the assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu."

Kenshin smirked inside. _That explains her fetish with hitting me_…

Kaoru nodded at all of the information. "It's good to meet people who know me. Now I feel like a real person."

Kaoru looked from face to face, trying in vain to find them in her memory. She quickly realized that they were all staring at the redhead sitting across from her, eyeing the strangers with cold, amber eyes.

"Oh! Sorry, I almost forgot. Everyone, this is Kenshin. He's in the same boat as me," she said quickly.

Kenshin acknowledged them silently. Yahiko slapped him on the back, which startled the redhead. "Thanks for taking care of busu over here. I know it's a lot of work. You must have the patience of a saint."

"It really wasn't that bad," Kenshin replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Hey, so you don't remember anything either?" Misao asked, looking at Kenshin.

He shook his head. "No."

"Well maybe some of your folks will turn up soon then, too," she said cherrily.

Kenshin ignored the irony in his mind and said aloud, "Hai, that would be nice." He didn't want Kaoru to know that he had already met a few from his past. So far, none of them were nearly as kind as Kaoru's friends. He had a feeling his future was a bit more bleak than hers. As unpleasant as that was, he had come to terms with reality.

Sano continued to eye the redhead suspiciously.

"Well," Kaoru said, getting up. "Maybe we should go for a walk and try to catch up. It's a little overwhelming cramped up in this restaurant."

Misao agreed. "Sure! We can go to the Aoiya. Gramps'll be happy to see you and know you're okay." As they left, Kenshin trailed behind, caught up in his thoughts as usual.

Sano turned to Kaoru and said quietly, "So who _is_ that Kenshin guy?"

"Oh, he was in the accident like me. We woke up in the clinic, and neither one of us knew who we were," Kaoru said, reminiscing.

"I see."

"Why do you ask?" Kaoru questioned, noticing the odd tone of Sano's voice.

"I don't know…I don't trust him. I feel like he's hiding something."

Kaoru was barely able to contain a snort of laughter. "Sano, he can't _help_ but hide everything because he doesn't know anything to begin with."

Sano sighed, "Yeah, but there's something else. There's something he _does_ know that he isn't telling us."

Kaoru shook her head. "Oh come on, Sano. Considering how odd you three are turning out to be, I would think you would be more open. Give him a chance, okay?"

Sano remained quiet, thinking about the mysterious redhead. Something about him gave Sano an uneasy feeling. He wasn't sure if it was just his quiet nature or if it was something darker. His whole being seemed to be emanating a silent strength or impending doom.

Sano chanced a glance behind, and as he did so, amber eyes locked with his through blood red bangs. The gangster's breath caught, and he whipped his head back to look straight ahead. _Yes, something about that redhead is definitely off_.

* * *

Kaoru felt so overwhelmed meeting all of these new people who claimed to be her friends. They were such nice people, and after a few hours, she felt as if she'd known them for years – of course, she kind of had.

And while it was nice to finally feel like she had a real life, she felt sorry for Kenshin, whose life had yet to be put back together. All of his questions were still left unanswered: Who was he? Where did he come from? Does he have a family?

Kaoru felt somewhat hopeful that since her friends had finally found her that maybe it was just a matter of time before Kenshin's did as well. But what Sano had said earlier really made Kaoru wonder, _did he know something already? What was he hididng?_ She was torn between believing that Kenshin would tell her everything and her gut feeling that Kenshin _wouldn't_ tell her anything. It wasn't like he was much of a talker to begin with.

Kaoru watched the redhead laughing with Sano as Yahiko folded his arms, face turning red. Kaoru suspected that Sano had made a joke at the boy's expense. She smiled as she watched Kenshin nearly doubling over. She had never seen him laugh so hard -- in fact, she had never really seen him laugh at all.

Feeling a finger poke her shoulder, she turned to see Misao eyeing her curiously. "What's wrong?"

Kaoru blinked, "Huh?"

"What's wrong?" she repeated. "You look troubled."

Kaoru shook her head, "It's nothing."

"Is it Kenshin?"

Kaoru looked at her in shock before trying to hide her surprise. "No, it's really nothing, Misao."

"Oh come on, Kaoru. You may not remember, but I know you well enough to know when you're lying to me," Misao remarked pointedly.

Kaoru sighed again. "You're probably right. I just can't help but feel sorry for him, you know? I mean, you guys just showed up so now I have part of my life back. But Kenshin...no one's come yet."

Misao nodded understandingly, "He's a strong guy...even if he doesn't look it." Misao laughed, and Kaoru shoved her. "Okay, okay, maybe he has a little muscle in that scrawny body."

Kaoru laughed, "Yeah, he's probably not much of a fighter. If we got in trouble, _I_ would probably be the one defending us since _apparently_ I know how to swing a bokken."

"You're really good at it, too."

"If you say so."

"Why don't you spar with Yahiko?" Misao jumped up and grabbed Kaoru's hand. "Come on!"

"I...I don't know if that's a good idea," Kaoru started sputtering, stumbling after Misao.

"Don't worry, Kaoru, you're a natural!" The overenthusiastic girl was dragging Kaoru across the yard of the Aoiya. "Oi, Yahiko! Kaoru wants to spar with you!"

Yahiko was grateful to escape from Sano, who was still telling jokes to Kenshin at his expense. "Sure, busu," Yahiko said immediately, grabbing his bokken.

Misao grabbed another one from inside and handed it to a nervous Kaoru. Bokken in hand, Kaoru settled into a position that she felt appropriate. She glanced at Yahiko, clearly unsure of herself, but found herself relieved to see that he was in the exact same stance.

Yahiko lunged at her, and the two began. Kaoru managed to block every one of his advances to her surprise. As Yahiko was about to swing down, Kaoru suddenly blocked, twisted to the side, and knocked the bokken out of Yahiko's hands. Breathing hard, she stood up shocked at her own work.

"Wow" was all she said.

"Alright!" Yahiko exclaimed.

"See?! I _told_ you you're a natural," Misao cheered.

Sano and Kenshin had stopped their antics to watch the fight. Sano walked over to Kaoru and slapped her on the back. "Good job, Jou-chan. I knew you still had it in you."

"Thanks, Sano," she replied. "It's weird, but it feels good to hold this again. It's kind of coming back to me."

"Scared of her now, Kenshin?" Sano asked the fidgeting redhead.

Kenshin smiled sheepishly. "I wouldn't want to get in a fight with her," he said quietly. After watching the fight, the glint he had in his eye had disappeared. And Kaoru noticed. She looked at him curiously, observing with a heavy heart how quickly the life in him had died. There wasn't that spark he had when he was laughing with Sano. She wasn't sure what had caused the abrupt change.

As she stared at him, his eyes covered by his red bangs, the others began to grow wary of the situation. "Are you okay, Kenshin?"

He looked up quickly and plastered a smile on his face. "Hai, I'm just tired. I think I'm going to head back to the clinic." Nodding to everyone, he left.

There was silence as he walked away. Sano's eyes narrowed. "Call me crazy," he said, "but he didn't start acting all weird again until _after_ Jou-chan and Yahiko's little sword fight."

"I think he's just a little overwhelmed," Kaoru started.

"Oh, come on, Jou-chan. Did you see his eyes? They're fucking gold. I'm telling you it's not normal."

Kaoru put her hands on her hips in irritation. "He can't help his _eye_ color, Sanoske. You're the only one with brown hair, so what do you say to that? I think _that's _weird."

"What?! There's nothing weird about my hair," Sano immediately defended.

Yahiko leaned over to Misao and whispered, "Funny he didn't mention that Kenshin's the only one with _red_ hair…"

Misao nodded in agreement at the irony, and the two continued to watch the bickering in amusement.

"Besides, he's probably just lonely because he doesn't know any of you!" Kaoru continued.

"Yeah, whatever. He's the quiet type, so I doubt he really gets lonely."

"_Everyone_ gets lonely, Sanoske."

"Stop calling me _Sanoske_! It makes me feel like you're mad at me or something."

"I _am_ mad at you, idiot!"

Just then, an old man walked into the yard. "Stop you're bickering you, too. It's giving me a headache."

"Gramps!" Misao shouted, jumping up from her seat. "Look! We finally found Kaoru." She pointed to the red-faced Kaoru, whose eyes looked wide and apologetic for bothering a man she didn't remember.

"Oh ho! She looks even prettier than I remember!"

Misao sighed and muttered, "Perverted old man."

Okina ignored her and waved them all inside. "Come on now, dinner's ready. I'm sure you're all hungry." He paused, looking at them thoughtfully. "Wasn't there another one of you?"

"Kenshin just left," Kaoru answered.

"Kenshin you say?"

Kaoru nodded.

"I see." His face was serious before he quickly shook it off, unnoticed by the others. "No matter! There's plenty of food, so come eat up!" They eagerly followed him inside the Aoiya. Okina took one last look at the empty yard. "Could it be him?" he asked himself quietly before closing the shoji and heading after the others.

* * *

Kenshin was furious at himself. He didn't want Kaoru to worry about him, and he didn't mean to let his mask slip so much. It was obvious that Kaoru knew something was wrong. When he saw her fighting, it brought back so many visions – visions of blood, of swords, of faces. They just came flooding in, and he wasn't completely sure why.

He quickened his pace back to the clinic. He had a mission to complete tonight, and he surprisingly wasn't very nervous about it. Upon reaching his room, he was relieved to note that both Dr. Gensai and Megumi were gone. As expected, his swords were well hidden in a medicine box tucked away in the corner of his room.

Kenshin slowly slid the blade of the katana out of its sheath, eyes widening at the perfection of the blade. They had clearly been used, and he could detect the faint, metallic smell of blood. The sword fit perfectly in his hand, conforming to his grip. It was almost unnerving how natural it all seemed.

Turning his attention to the shorter sword of the two, Kenshin noticed that it was not the only other item in the box. Inside was also a worn navy gi, grey hakama, straw hat, and arm guards. He removed the gi, which was his size. He smiled faintly. These must have all been his.

It was almost bittersweet. A part of him was relieved to have pieces of his life coming together, but another part of him was slightly horrified at the pieces themselves. Did he want this puzzle to be completed?

Sighing, he changed into the new/old clothing, and pulled on the arm guards. He glanced at the straw hat, briefly wondering why he would have that. The only solution he could come up with was to hide his blatant red hair. He supposed as an assassin, his hair would be fairly noticeable. But if that were true, then why hadn't anyone recognized him?

Of course, as an assassin he supposed those who saw him were either killed or worked for the Ishin Shishi. Assassins didn't exactly stroll about in the daylight announcing themselves.

Sneaking out of the clinic, the redhead kept to the shadows of the alleys. He winded through the back streets, keeping out of sight and reached his destination in record time. It was now dark outside, and it was only a matter of time before his target appeared.

He hadn't been given instruction on protocol, but he didn't really feel like he needed them. He heard footsteps approaching and sensed a relatively weak ki. It was definitely the man he was waiting for. There were no bodyguards, but this man was supposedly skilled with a sword. However, Kenshin could sense his ki, and the man's confidence clearly overpowered his skill.

Stepping out from the shadows, Kenshin stood behind the man and tilted his sheath, making the metal ring out in the silence of the night. The man turned slowly to face him. Kenshin, eyes cold and face blank, looked at the man and said with an icy voice, "Taro Nobuyuki. Though I bear you no grudge, I must have your life."

Nobuyuki didn't even have time to scream before the demon was upon him, and he was cut cleanly in two. Amber eyes eyed him for a moment, and Kenshin whispered softly, "Tenchu." He flicked the blood of his blade and sheathed his katana. He felt a familiar ki, which he recognized to be the man from earlier.

"Good job, Himura," he observed. "I see you haven't lost your touch."

Kenshin remained silent, watching.

"I just remembered that I never properly introduced myself. You can call me Hiroto."

"Good evening, Hiroto-san," Kenshin replied.

"Well, I'll take care of cleaning this up. You should get some rest. Katsura will probably want to meet with you tomorrow."

"Where?"

"The inn, of course." When Hiroto saw the youth's still puzzled face, he continued, "It's alright, you have good instincts, so you'll remember where it is."

Kenshin nodded and turned to leave, leaving Hiroto behind to clean up the bloody mess behind him. He was anxious to get back to the clinic, feeling a need to wash himself, despite the fact that not a drop of blood had touched him. Already it felt like routine…after only one job. He shook his head as he sprinted across the rooftops. He just wanted to see Kaoru's smiling face in the morning when everything was back to normal.

He hoped that he could keep up his innocent times with Kaoru and her friends he just met. There was no way he could let Kaoru know about his past, and now his present. But he didn't want to lose the façade. He was determined to keep up the double life for as long as possible. He thought bitterly, perhaps it would all work out…

_...doubt it_.

* * *

_A/N: More action will be coming obviously, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter. And if you're curious, Hiroto's job is like Izuka's (but obviously Izuka is long gone since the Tomoe incident has already occurred). There is no Shishio or successor to Kenshin because this story isn't following the RK storyline like that so please be patient and bear with me. And please review! Thanks._


	6. Hidden Scars

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.**

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Hidden Scars**

Nightmares again. Kenshin woke up in a seated position, sword propped up familiarly against his shoulder, in the corner of his room. He shook his head silently, recognizing more aspects of his past routine. The nightmares were apparently another pattern. However, he was determined to accept them; it was a small price to pay to carve the way for a new age. In the end, his feelings weren't really what mattered.

Hearing birds chirping, he suspected it was time to get up. Rising, he quickly made sure he was presentable and padded down the hallway to prepare breakfast. As he started cooking, he felt Kaoru's presence approaching.

"Good morning, Kenshin," she said, yawning and stretching out her arms.

He turned briefly, "Good morning, Kaoru." Kaoru frowned. Something about Kenshin was off this morning…more so than the day before. His shoulders looked stiff as he was stirring the stew before him.

She wondered what was wrong, but she also knew Kenshin would never tell her. Her hands curled into fists at her side in frustration. Why would he never let her help him? She was about to shout at the unsuspecting redhead when she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Sano standing next to her.

"That breakfast?" he asked, jerking his head in Kenshin's direction.

"Huh?" Kaoru asked. "Oh ya, Kenshin cooks it every morning."

Kenshin looked back at them and then turned to Sano questioningly. Kaoru noticed the confused look on his face and explained quickly, "Oh, he, Yahiko, and Misao all met Megumi and Dr. Gensai last night. So they were invited over today. Would you be able to make a little extra food for breakfast? Sorry for the trouble."

Smiling, he nodded. "There's more than enough."

Yahiko suddenly appeared in the doorway and strolled in. "Man, that smells good. Much better than busu's cooking."

"E-Excuse me?" Kaoru asked the boy angrily.

Sano laughed. "Yeah, sorry Jou-chan, but you're cooking could kill."

"What?!" she shrieked.

"Now that you mention, you did somehow burn water the other day," Kenshin added thoughtfully. Kaoru looked between the three helplessly, noting Sano and Yahiko's amusement at Kenshin's innocently truthful comment.

Sano and Yahiko looked at each other before falling over in fits of laughter. "Geez, Jou-chan, you're cooking skills have reached new levels!"

Kaoru crossed her arms in frustration. She didn't really see how she could defend her cooking abilities. It was quite apparent that she was severely lacking in that department. "Well, fine, if you hate it so much, don't eat it!"

"Okay, okay," Sano held his hands up in defeat. His impish grin was immediately wiped from his face when he saw the seriousness behind Kaoru's threat. Deciding to change the subject, he turned to the cook. "So…what did you do last night, Kenshin?"

Kenshin looked at him with wide eyes. He was unsure if Sano was simply trying to change the subject or if he was hinting at something. Sano's voice was so accusing, but Kenshin knew that there was no way Sano _knew_ what he did last night…right? "Huh?"

He pretended to not hear the question in an effort to give himself more time to come up with an acceptable excuse for the previous night. He was going to need to come up with suitable alibis from now on.

"Last night. Just making conversation," Sano shrugged.

Kenshin visibly relaxed but was still staring at the tall man leaning against the door frame. He was not accustomed to people wanting to simply make conversation with him. Finally, he shook his head. "Sorry, perhaps I haven't quite woken up yet. I was just tired last night, that's all."

"We do tend wear people out, especially busu," Yahiko said. Kenshin sighed in response and continued to prepare breakfast while Kaoru and Yahiko immediately broke out into a verbal battle. Of course, it soon escalated into a physical one, and Kenshin had to duck as various objects were hurled across the kitchen above his head. The occasional radish landed in the pot before him, and Kenshin shook his head, muttering about how he had been planning to use those for dinner.

Sano chuckled as he watched the scene playing out before him. Kaoru was throwing various vegetables at Yahiko who was trying to dodge them with only a small amount of success. Kaoru tended to have deadly aim, despite the few radishes that absently made their way into the stew Kenshin was stirring. The redhead was shaking his head and muttering under his breath as each radish made a small splash.

The scene seemed so _right_. It was as if this kind of thing happened all the time. And while it was a common occurrence at the dojo in Tokyo, Kenshin just seemed to fit right in. Sano barely knew him, but he found the redhead growing on him just the same. But there was still the odd feeling the gangster received from Kaoru's new friend. The others seemed to accept his answer of simply being tired the night before, and under normal circumstances, Sano would admit that was an acceptable answer. However, he did not fail to notice the dark look of suspicion that flashed in the redhead's eyes when he first asked the question. He had only been trying to change the subject after all, and a simple question of what a person did the previous night generally should not warrant suspicion.

Sano didn't care how much Kaoru claimed Kenshin was harmless. The scrawny redhead was definitely hiding something, and Sano was determined to find out just what that was. As far as Sano was concerned, if it didn't endanger Kaoru, then it wouldn't be a problem. Kami knew that Sano already had plenty of less than reputable friends back in Tokyo, and his own past endeavors were not exactly honorable either. But he didn't like being kept in the dark, especially when it was clear that Kenshin had no intention of revealing whatever secret he was keeping hidden.

* * *

Breakfast was delicious, and everyone was in great moods. Even Kenshin seemed to have a genuine smile – almost. Kaoru's friends were nearly making him forget about the night before. It wasn't until after lunch that he decided it was finally time for him to face reality again. He still had to meet Katsura at the inn.

He watched Kaoru laughing as Misao and Yahiko got into yet another fight. Those two seemed to fight even more than Yahiko and Kaoru herself. Kaoru was beaming, and Kenshin had never seen her so happy. Smiling sadly, he turned to leave but a voice stopped him. "I hope you're not trying to sneak out while they're not looking."

Kenshin whirled around. Was this guy _always_ watching him? "I was just going to--," he stammered.

Abruptly, Sano grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. "Look, here. I know you're hiding something, and I don't know what it is. Jou-chan trusts you, so I'm trying to, too. But if you do _anything_ to hurt her, I swear—."

"Sano." Kenshin said sternly. His golden eyes bore into his. "I will never let anything happen to her."

Sano sighed and let go of his arm. "Fine. But you didn't answer my question."

"Technically, you didn't ask one."

Sano gaped at him. "Hey, don't get picky!"

Kenshin smiled and waved briefly, "I will be back later. I don't want to interrupt. She looks happy."

"Yeah, she does," Sano replied, watching the redhead go. As much as he didn't trust him, Sano couldn't help but admire the obvious way he cared for Kaoru. And it was clear Kaoru cared for him as well.

A few moments after Kenshin left, Kaoru noticed his disappearance. She turned around with a confused expression on her face. "Hey, Sano, where did Kenshin go?"

"Oh, he went out to buy some vegetables for dinner or something," Sano replied.

"Oh, he didn't tell me that," she said, clearly disappointed.

"Yeah, it was last minute," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Considering how you threw so many radishes into the stew this morning, there probably weren't any more left."

"Well, hopefully he comes back soon! I wanted to show him something, which reminds me," she continued. "Misao!" She hurried off to the young girl across the yard.

Sano watched her. He couldn't believe he just covered for the redhead, who he was strangely starting to see as a friend. Actually, he hadn't just_ covered_ for him, he _lied_ for him. Sano shook his head, groaning inwardly. The cold, sneaky, and emotionless excuse for a human being was weaseling himself into their group, and there was nothing Sano could do about it. Considering the stunt he just pulled with Jou-chan, maybe the redhead had already unwittingly gained his friendship.

* * *

Kaoru grabbed Misao's arm. "Hey, I was going to show you something yesterday but forgot. Come one!"

"What? Kaoru, what is it?" Misao asked, protesting as she was half dragged away from the clinic. Kaoru was leading her down the street away from both the Aoiya and the clinic, ignoring the fervent protests coming from the smaller girl trailing behind her.

Finally, Kaoru slowed her pace. "Okay, here it is," she said excitedly.

Misao raised her eyebrows and looked around. "Um, it's a cemetery."

"Yes it is!"

Misao turned to her friend and gently held her shoulders. "Kaoru," she said soothingly. "I know that sometimes we disagree on what we find exciting, and I know that you hit your head pretty hard. But really, this is a little weird even for you. Now if you need to talk to Dr. Gen--."

"No," Kaoru interrupted. "It's not the cemetery exactly, but I found a grave that was really interesting."

"Not helping your case," Misao continued. "Now, as I was saying…"

"Misao! Listen to me," Kaoru said with an exasperated expression. Seeing her friend continue to gape at her, Kaoru sighed and muttered, "Just follow me."

Kaoru turned on her heel and walked through the gated entrance to the cemetery, clearly expecting Misao to follow her. The smaller girl sighed and reluctantly followed Kaoru down the path. Kaoru finally came to a stop in front of a small stone and pointed to it. A flower was still resting there, but it was now rather wilted. "There."

Deciding to humor her, Misao knelt down before the grave and read the name, "Yukishiro Tomoe. Died at 18, huh? That's kinda young."

"That's what I thought, too," Kaoru said sadly.

"I don't want to sound insensitive, Kaoru, but what is it exactly that you found so interesting about this particular grave? I mean, there's probably a lot of people who died that young, especially in this time."

"I don't know," Kaoru started.

"Look, I know you're still trying to figure out the details of your past, but as a friend, I can honestly tell you that you don't know whoever this is…or was."

Kaoru shook her head. "That wasn't really why I was drawn to the grave. When I saw the grave last time, the flower was pretty fresh. So someone was visiting recently."

"Yeah, it's pretty uncommon for someone to visit a grave," Misao commented sarcastically.

"But this was the only one with a fresh flower," Kaoru defended.

"Come to think of it," Misao said with sudden thoughtfulness. "Sometimes, Gramps and I walk past here, and there was usually a flower. I mean, I didn't know which grave it was, but it must have been this one. It's the only one with a fresh flower, which is why I always notice. Most of the other graves are bare."

Kaoru was nearly jumping with joy. "See? I knew it was unusual!"

Misao eyed her pointedly, "I never said it was _unusual_. I was just saying—"

"But that's not all," Kaoru continued. She pulled a worn paper out of her kimono, which Misao looked at with curiosity. "This was there with the flower."

Misao took the paper carefully and read it. "A sheath to hold back the madness?" she asked after reading the words. "What does that mean?"

Kaoru shrugged, "I don't know. But do you see what I mean now? It just didn't seem like a normal grave to me. Maybe it was just because I didn't know much about my own life that made me want to investigate another's."

"Well, what did Kenshin say?"

"Uh, I didn't tell him," Kaoru admitted guiltily.

"Huh? Why not?"

"I don't know…I just thought he'd think it was stupid. He didn't really want to come to the cemetery in the first place. Honestly, I don't think he thought it'd be worthwhile." Kaoru sounded disappointed as she remembered how Kenshin had thought she was being ridiculous when she suggested the cemetery as a source of information in the first place.

"Hmm, well I guess it would be difficult to find any information when you didn't know your full name to begin with. I mean, you wouldn't be able to find any ancestors without that," Misao commented.

Kaoru groaned, "Now you sound just like Kenshin. I really didn't think it was _that_ stupid of an idea!"

Misao waved her hands in front of her, "No, no, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then what _did_ you mean?" Kaoru asked accusingly.

Instead of cowering beneath Kaoru's angry glare, Misao snapped her fingers, "Hey! Why don't we investigate this grave then?"

"What?"

"Come on! It's be fun. Besides, what else are we going to do? We can only go to the Shirobeko and bother Sae so many times. This will give us something else to do with our time. It'll be an adventure."

Kaoru smiled gratefully at her excited companion, "Okay, then."

"Great! Now, where should we start?"

"Um, I don't know."

"Well, we can figure out who wrote this, I guess."

Misao, out of all the ways we could start investigating, that is probably the most complicated," Kaoru pointed out.

Misao stood, thinking for a moment. "You're probably right about that. We can't go about Kyoto getting people to write things for us." Then she snapped her fingers again, "How about we…no, that would require the whole police force…"

Kaoru slapped a hand to her face and shook her head. Misao clearly enjoyed jumping into things, but she was definitely making things more complicated than they needed to be. You would think that she would have the whole detective thing down pat by now as a member of the Oniwabanshu but clearly not. "Why don't we just keep our eyes and ears open in case we hear anything for now?" Kaoru suggested.

Misao wasn't listening. "Ah-hah! We could…oh shoot, no then we would need to go to Tokyo."

"Misao. We can just keep a lookout," Kaoru repeated.

"Huh? A lookout? Oh, yes! We can stand guard and wait for whoever comes to bring the flower!"

Kaoru laughed, "Misao, that's ridiculous." When Misao gave her a shocked look, Kaoru continued, "First, the person must not come every week since this flower is older than that. And second, that is dangerous. We can't stand here all night."

"Fine. I guess you're right. Maybe we should just keep our eyes and ears open in case we hear anything then? I think that would be best for now."

Kaoru sighed, deciding not to point out the fact that she had _just_ said that twice now. "Good plan, Misao."

"Hey, that's what members of the Oniwabanshu are for, you know! We're crafty!"

"Right." Kaoru rolled her eyes as they left the cemetery and headed towards the Aoiya.

* * *

At the clinic, Megumi and Dr. Gensai had both returned from helping patients. Sano and Yahiko were still there – Yahiko playing with Ayame and Suzume, Dr. Gensai's granddaughters, and Sano chewing on a fish bone and sitting on the porch. While Dr. Gensai went over to help relieve Yahiko of his babysitting duties, Sano called over to Megumi.

"Oi, Fox!"

Megumi flipped her hair. "It's Megumi to you, rooster-head."

Sano waved off her response. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"And what would that be?" Megumi put her hands on her hips in irritation. She had only just met this man, and he was already getting on her nerves.

"It's about Kenshin."

Megumi suddenly smiled and cooed, "Ken-san?"

Sano chose to ignore the affectionate nickname and said simply, "Yeah, tell me about him."

Megumi shook her head and took a seat purposely at a distance away from Sano. "Honestly, I don't know that much about him. He and Kaoru were brought to our clinic over a week ago after being in a carriage accident. Apparently several people were involved, but they were the only ones with significant head injuries. So when they woke up, they both had amnesia." She sighed, "It's too bad. I know that Kaoru is finally putting back the pieces of her life, but Ken-san doesn't seem to know anything yet."

"You sure about that?"

Megumi looked at Sano a bit taken aback by his tone. "Well, no, I'm not positive. But if he knew something, I would expect he would tell us, don't you think?"

"Not if it was something he didn't want us to know."

"And what are you suggesting?"

Sano shrugged, "I think he's hididng something."

"Sanoske," Megumi said harshly.

"Why does everyone keep saying my full name like that?" he groaned.

"It's only because you're being an idiot," she replied sharply. "Ken-san is a kind, genuine young man. He cares for everyone a great deal and puts everyone else first. You could learn from him."

"I would never be all sneaky like that."

"The only thing he's hiding is his discomfort. He's probably just uncomfortable not knowing who he is. When he and Kaoru were both without their memories, he had someone he could relate to and wasn't alone. But now you are all here and know each other, but he's still an outsider. How would you feel?"

Sano looked at her. "I hadn't really thought about it like that."

"That's because you don't think." Megumi stood up stiffly and turned back to Sano, "Now, if you excuse me, I do have more important things to do than smack some sense into you. Just try and give Ken-san a chance." She didn't wait for a response as she strode inside the clinic.

Sano watched her walk away and sighed. Maybe he really did need to cut Kenshin some slack. Everyone else trusted him, and he was outnumbered. He could just be acting paranoid. After all, how much harm could a scrawny, little redhead really do anyway?

* * *

The inn had not been difficult to find. From the outside, it appeared to be just like any other inn in Kyoto. However, as Kenshin stood outside the building, he knew better. It was a sixth sense that told him where to go, and the place looked familiar to him as he had stepped inside.

He now regarded the man in front of him with piercing, amber eyes. Katsura Kogoro was kneeling in front of him on the other side of the room, and tea was set up between them. "Good afternoon, Himura. Please sit." The redhead moved forward and took a seat across from Katsura, slightly relieved that his boss's face looked familiar.

"I hear you have recovered well," Katsure continued.

"Hai."

"And how did your assignment go last night?"

"He was killed very swiftly."

Katsura smiled bitterly at the response. That wasn't exactly what he had meant, but he let it slide. After several years working with Himura, it was the answer he should have expected. Himura was all work, no emotion. Whenever Katsura asked about an assignment, Himura would always tell him shortly that the person was killed swiftly. The answer varied slightly in words alone, but the meaning was always the same. Never once had Himura told him how _he_ was feeling. It was always the efficiency of the assignment alone.

Katsura sighed. He didn't want to beat around the bush so he looked at the boy before him and asked directly, cutting to the point, "Are you sure that you would like to continue your work as a hitokiri?"

"Hai."

The response was immediate. There was no pause, no hesitation, no doubt. Katsura leaned back slightly, unsure of whether to be grateful to have his hitokiri back without lingering doubt or whether to be unnerved by his unwavering will.

"Very well. Then, we have other matters to discuss. Firstly, the question concerning your lodging. You are welcome to return here to the inn, or you may stay at the clinic for the time being."

There was no response, but Katsura was not surprised. He had not asked a direct question, and Himura did not respond unless directly asked. The redhead simply waited patiently for him to continue.

"I believe that it may be good for you to stay at the clinic for now so you can get acquainted with everything slowly. You have new friends, and I do not wish to cut you off from them." The redhead nodded in acceptance, inwardly thankful that he would not have to leave Kaoru. However, the _yet_ that was silently tagged on to the end of the sentence did not go unnoticed. He did not know when it would happen, but he wanted to enjoy the last days with his friends as much as possible.

"However, obviously this means that you must take extra precautions," Katsura continued. "It will be more difficult to execute your tasks successfully and remain hidden if you stay there. If you were discovered, it would not ruin our cause, but it would make things more complicated. Therefore, your staying at the inn will not be a permanent arrangement. If you were discovered, it would not ruin our cause, but it would make things substantially more difficult. And it is important that your identity remain as obscure as possible.

"There is also the matter of your past. Right now, you do not know much about your personal life. It is not my particular wish to offer you that information, as I do not feel it is my place. And as I have only known you for three years, there is only so much I can offer as it is. However, if you wish me to, I can answer some questions."

There was a long moment of silence. Katsura sighed inwardly. It seemed that whenever he had private meetings with his cherished assassin, he sighed just as much as he breathed. When no question was asked, he opened his mouth to continue.

"How old am I?" The voice was soft, and it surprised the Choushu leader.

Katsura recovered quickly and smiled, "Eighteen. You began working here three years ago."

"Ah."

"Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"Do I have family?" The second question was equally quiet, barely loud enough for Katsura to hear in the silent room. Katsura felt a pain in his heart. He knew what Himura meant by the word 'family' – parents, brothers, sisters, etc. Without his memory, there would be no reason for the boy to assume he had been…married. But Katsura knew the inevitable truth that would ultimately make its way to the young assassin before him. He didn't mean the lack of blood-related family but the past presence of a beautiful woman that smelled of white plum blossoms. Katsura didn't want to ever bring up _her_ if it wasn't necessary, so he answered with only reference to blood-related relatives.

"No," Katsura replied. The redhead was silent. Katsura didn't know what made him say it, but he didn't want the boy to feel so alone. "However, Okami-san has been very much a mother to you. And you are not alone."

Startled golden eyes darted up to the man across from him before narrowing suspicisouly. Those had been surprisingly soft words fro a leader to say to a lowly shadow assassin. The suspicious look Katsura was receiving made Katsura answer to the uncertainty playing the in the redhead's eyes.

"You may be Hitokiri Battousai, but you are still young. I treat all of my soldiers with dignity and respect. Your feelings are still important to me."

The redhead's body remained stiff, but his eyes relaxed slightly and darted back to the floor. "Ah."

Thankful the tension was easing, Katsura continued, handing Kenshin a black envelope, "Now, here is another assignment. It is to be done tonight."

Kenshin took the envelope and stood silently, picking up the swords by his side. He left the room and read the script, memorizing it and burning it in the flame of a candle on his way out of the inn. The time was for ten that night, which gave him ample opportunity to cook and pick some vegetables up for dinner. He smiled sadly as he thought of Kaoru. She would probably be mad at him for disappearing earlier. He figured he would just tell her he needed to pick up some things for dinner. That would make sense anyway, considering she wasted half of the vegetables in her food fight with Yahiko that morning.

It was during his musings that he felt the raindrops begin hitting his face. He glanced up at the now darkening sky and cursed to himself for not noticing it earlier. Now he was going to be drenched by the time he reached the clinic. He gritted his teeth and picked up the pace, maneuvering skillfully through the crowds. Today would have been a nice day to have that straw hat, but there was no way he could wear that without Kaoru wondering where it had come from. Megumi and Dr. Gensai wouldn't have had one just laying around anyway.

He was nearing the clinic when he heard a familiar voice call out to him. Yahiko was waving from the entrance to the Aoiya. "Hey, Kenshin!" he called through the rain. Kenshin quickly darted over to him and out of the rain. "What were you doing out? You're drenched!"

Kenshin shook his head, sending water droplets flying off the red strands. "I didn't think it was going to rain," he muttered, looking down at his wet form.

"Yeah, well, it was a bit unexpected anyway," Yahiko continued, leading him inside. "Everyone's inside."

Kenshin paused, "What about Kao—"

Yahiko knew what he was going to ask and answered quickly, "Including Kaoru."

Kenshin sighed in relief and followed after the boy. Kaoru was probably going to be furious at him for getting so wet. While Kenshin was grateful that he didn't need to cook dinner now, the fact left him with the dilemma of coming up with another alibi in case Kaoru asked…which she inevitably would. Inwardly, Kenshin groaned at his current inability to be creative. Of course, considering his completely soaked body, maybe she would forget and just resort to criticizing him for being out in the rain.

* * *

Kaoru and Misao were laughing as they returned to the Aoiya. They had just visited Sae at the Shirobeko after quickly giving up on their so-called investigation. It had been decided that clearly they weren't very good detectives. Not only could they not do a good job of the actual investigation, they couldn't even come up with _ways_ to investigate. So they were severely lacking in both the brains and the skills required for the job.

They had just made it to the Aoiya when the rain began to fall. Okina ushered them inside just before the torrential downpour, and the girls were thankful that they didn't get wet. "All those pretty ladies out in the rain," Okina snickered. "Maybe I should give them some shelter here."

"Geez, Gramps!" Misao lamented. "Do you always feel the need to say things like that? Really, they'd probably rather be pelted with water than deal with your advances."

Okina just laughed, "What? No woman can resist my charms!"

Misao groaned. "What am I doing with my life? Not only am I a terrible detective, but I can't control a perverted grandfather?"

Kaoru giggled, and Okina looked at Misao with interest. "A terrible detective? My dear, you're a member of the Oniwabanshu. You have excellent detective skills."

Misao shook her head. "We haven't been able to find anything all day."

"We didn't exactly look that hard," Kaoru pointed out. "Mostly we just got distracted by Sae at the Akabeko, and then it looked like it was going to rain."

"What were you trying to find?" Okina asked curiously.

"Some grave at the cemetery. It just sparked a little curiosity in us," Kaoru answered.

"Ah, I see. Looking for a little adventure?"

The girls nodded and Misao continued, "There really hasn't been a lot to do, so we just figured it would be something fun and innocent to occupy our time. Without getting into too much trouble." She added the last part when she saw Okina raise his eyebrows.

"May I ask whose grave?"

"Yukishiro Tomoe," Misao said cheerfully. "We don't know anything about her, but we just saw some flowers there. And Kaoru found a note last week. So we just thought we'd check it out."

Kaoru watched Okina's facial expressions change dramatically during Misao's cheery rambling. Actually, his facial expressions didn't change much except go from pale to more pale to almost white. "Is something wrong, Okina-san?" Kaoru asked worriedly.

The old man shook his head and tried to smile, "No, but I think you should allow the dead their peace."

Kaoru could see that something was troubling, but it went unnoticed by Misao. Misao looked at her grandfather in surprise, "But, Gramps! It's really just some innocent fun. We're not going to do anything _crazy_ or anything, just ask a few people. We could just talk to Sano or Yahiko or Himur—"

"No." His answer was sudden, abrupt, and loud. Misao looked at Okina, the shock evident on her face. "You will not mention this to Himura," he said. Though he tried to look firm in his words, his voice berayed him, the fear in his words evident. "Or Sano or Yahiko, of course," he added. However, the damage had already been done. Kaoru was staring at him in surprise. He had said not to mention it to _Kenshin_. And he had only added Sano and Yahiko's names as an afterthought. Why would any of this matter to Kenshin?

"We understand," Kaoru said softly. Okina nodded and turned away abruptly, heading down the hallway. Kaoru turned to Misao who was still standing frozen in place. "Come on, Misao," Kaoru urged, tugging on the girl's sleeve.

"I…I…," Misao started, at a loss for words. Gramps had never really reprimanded her like that before. She had never heard him so…s…what was it? Angry? Frightened? She couldn't figure it out. Why wouldn't he want Himura or Sano or Yahiko to know about Tomoe? None of it made any sense. She felt herself being led into her room and sat down next to Kaoru.

"Misao? Snap out of it!" Two hands clapped in front of her face loudly, and Misao shrieked in surprise.

"Ah! Sorry, Kaoru. I zoned out," she panted after overcoming from surprise.

"Obviously," Kaoru muttered. "What's wrong with you?"

Misao was quiet for a moment before answering, "It's just that Gramps has never been so harsh with me before. I don't know what made him so upset. And I don't know why he doesn't want the rooster, brat, _or_ redhead to know."

"You mean why he doesn't want _Kenshin_ to know," Kaoru corrected.

"Huh? No, I meant all three of them."

"Misao," Kaoru said seriously. "He specifically told us not to tell Kenshin, and _then_ only mentioned Sano and Yahiko as an afterthought. He only said their names so that we wouldn't dwell on why he doesn't want _Kenshin_ to know. I thought that was obvious."

"What? You're serious? Why would it matter if Kenshin knew?"

"I don't know. We don't know much about him anyway."

"Exactly," Misao said, suddenly getting a little angry. "We don't know _anything_ about him, so why would Gramps think he shouldn't know anything about Tomoe?"

"I don't know," Kaoru said slowly.

"That's my point."

"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked in confusion.

Misao put a finger up and looked pointedly at Kaoru. "I'm telling you what. Gramps is hiding something about Himura from us. Maybe it's something Himura doesn't even know himself. But we don't know anything about that mysterious redhead, and technically, no one should. So why does Gramps think he shouldn't know about Tomoe?"

"Unless Okina-san _knew_ something about her _and _Kenshin," Kaoru finished.

"Now you see what I mean?"

Kaoru nodded. "So what should we do?"

"Isn't it obvious? We confront Himura!" Misao stood up and headed towards the door.

Kaoru reached over and grabbed her ankle quickly, causing Misao to wave her arms at her sides to catch her balance before toppling over. "Hey, what was that for, Kaoru?" she asked angrily.

"I don't think we should say anything."

"Why not? Don't you want to know what's going on?" Misao exclaimed.

Kaoru fisted the cloth of her kimono in her lap. "I do, but if Okina-san thinks it's that important, then we really should listen to him. Besides, Tomoe could just be someone Kenshin knew and nothing more. It's probably not important at all, and our curiosity is just getting the better of us. If we said something, it would only hurt Kenshin by bringing up the death of a loved one."

Misao saw the sincerity in Kaoru's eyes and said slowly, "If you're sure, but I still think it's a bit fishy."

"I didn't say it wasn't. But until we have a reason to say something, we should really keep quiet."

"HIMURA! WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THE RAIN?!" Okina's voice rang out throughout the Aoiya.

"Speak of the devil," Misao grinned.

Kaoru laughed and then paused. "Rain? He's probably drenched, that baka!" She stood up, about to head towards the shoji when it opened.

"Kaoru-chan? Ah, yes, she and Misao are right in here," Okina said. He gestured the soaking redhead towards the door and opened it, revealing the two girls in the room. Kaoru was smiling brightly when she saw him, but her eyes soon went wide as she took in his form.

Kaoru felt her cheeks turn red as she looked at the drenched redhead standing before her. His gi was soaked and clinging to his taut muscles. Both his gi and hakama were so wet that they left little to the imagination. Kaoru had never realized that his slight frame was quite so well built. Maybe he wasn't as scrawny as she thought. She blushed furiously as she realized that she had been staring at his body before bringing her eyes up to his face. Red strands of hair fell about his face, framing it beautifully. His golden eyes peered at her from beneath long, sopped bangs.

"Kaoru?" he asked. He felt a blush creeping up on him as he watched her look his body up and down. He had imagined her seeing his wet form and then hitting him with the nearest item and calling him 'baka.' He _hadn't_ expected her to practically grope him with her eyes. And while he felt slightly embarrassed by that fact, he was also flattered.

"Uh, gomen, Kenshin," Kaoru said quickly, turning away and trying to hide her blush.

Misao noticed it and felt the need to fuel the situation. "My Himura, you certainly did get drenched, didn't you? Kaoru, what's wrong? Why's your face all red?"

Kaoru wanted to slap her friend for acting like she didn't know Kaoru was blushing. Honestly, wasn't she embarrassed enough already? She had practically groped Kenshin with her eyes! She should be ashamed, and now she was afraid to look at him and his body…"Stop it, Kaoru!" she hissed to herself.

Kenshin heard her perfectly clearly, and a part of him felt like teasing her. He grinned impishly, "Stop what?"

No one else had heard Kaoru say anything, but Kenshin's sharp hearing could hear anything and everything. Kaoru turned around and gaped at the redhead. "You _heard_ that?"

Kenshin shrugged, "I can't help my hearing."

"I can't believe this," she groaned. When she saw his smirk, she finally grew irritated. "Baka! Why were you out in the rain anyway? You could have caught a cold!"

Now _there_ was the reaction he expected. Kenshin sputtered, "I was just—"

"Yeah, I know you were buying vegetables for dinner," Kaoru interrupted. "Sano told me earlier, but that doesn't explain why you wouldn't immediately come back when it started raining. And where _are_ these vegetables anyway?" She peered around him as if searching for the groceries that he should have been carrying.

Kenshin looked at her in shock. He had never expected Sano to cover for him, but he was grateful that he wouldn't need to come up with an excuse on his own now…even though his reason had been the same anyway. But the question as to where the vegetables would be…he had to act dumb if he wanted to get off the hook. "Well," he began sheepishly, putting a hand to the back of his wet head. "I kind of dropped them. When it started raining, I wanted to get back to the clinic and must have dropped them along the way."

"Then why aren't you at the clinic?" she continued accusingly.

"I ran into Yahiko," he said honestly. At least he wasn't lying about that.

"Oh," Kaoru said, almost disappointed that she couldn't argue.

At the brief moment of silence, Okina decided to interject. "Well, I'm going to get Himura some dry clothes, so you three behave." He turned away grimly to complete the task of finding dry clothes that would fit Kenshin's small frame. As he headed down the hallway, he could hear the bickering beginning again. He shook his head. It was obvious that Kenshin and Kaoru liked each other; they were such typical teenagers.

But before Okina could think more about that point, the nagging began in the back of his mind – _Battousai_. The smile that had been tugging on his lips instantly disappeared. He wasn't positive that the redhead and the assassin were one and the same, but all of the clues pointed to it. The Oniwabanshu had high intelligence and knew nearly every secret in Kyoto. And although Battousai's identity was one of the most difficult secrets to uncover, it had become easier about a year ago. There had supposedly been a traitor to the Ishin Shishi who had been leaking information. The traitor had since been dealt with, but the information he leaked was valuable. The Oniwabanshu was fortunate enough to gain access to that information, and Okina was sure that few in Japan had red hair, let alone in Kyoto.

It was difficult to believe that the infamous assassin could be a mere boy, but Himura had rather eerie eyes that seemed to have seen much more than any mere teenager. His eyes were cold and at times emotionless, and his voice was often soft and flat. It was only when he was with Kaoru that he seemed to be more than just a shell of a human being. What kind of torture could a normal child go through to cause such deterioration of emotions?

Okina shook his head again. It seemed like nonsense that Himura was the Battousai, but at the same time, it made sense. Truly, the only thing that Okina was doubting at this point were the boy's skills. He seemed too small to be much of a fighter. He didn't even seem to be strong enough to hold a sword. However, the rain had certainly shown that underneath all that clothing, the boy emitted a quiet strength through his small, sculpted body.

Then there was the question as to whether Himura knew of his past or not. His haunted eyes seemed to scream yes, but then why would he still be at the clinic? So many things just didn't add up, and Okina did not want to wrongly accuse the boy of being something he is not. Perhaps an innocent discussion over tea would reveal all he information he needs to confirm his suspicions.

Upon making that decision, Okina concentrated on sifting through the clothing now before him until he found a black gi and hakama that was small enough. He noted that the clothing was a bit ominous, being all black, but many in the Oniwabanshu desired black clothing to fade more in the shadows. Not that Himura needed _more_ help in his shadow assassin duities, he thought bitterly. He could probably successfully complete an assassination in a glowing white outfit with lights that flashed, "look at me," and people would still never know he was there.

Sighing, Okina called out down the hallway. "Himura, I have clothes for you." He watched the flustered redhead stumble out of the room and fall over as an arm shot out to grab his ankle. Kenshin reached an arm down to stop his fall gracefully, and he turned to glower at whoever the culprit was in the room. He exchanged a few words and finally managed to untangle himself from a heap on the floor. He gi was falling slightly off his shoulder after his fall, and he pulled it back up quickly. Heading towards Okina, he muttered an apology for getting the floors wet and something about a weasel.

Okina chuckled, "Misao is always trying to get people into trouble. Now here's a dry gi and hakama. The gi may be a little large for you. They're just black, so I hope you don't mind."

Kenshin eyed him and shook his head, "Arigatou."

Okina showed him a room where he could change. "When you're done, I prepared some tea. You should drink have a drink with me." When Kenshin was about to protest, he continued, "the tea will also help make sure you don't catch a cold. You've been wet for quite a while, and we don't want you getting sick now, would we?"

The redhead stared at him dumbfounded. The old man let out a hoot again before snickering, "And you know, I don't think Kaoru-chan would appreciate if you got sick…"

Kenshin turned red and escaped into the room before Okina could continue with his antics. He changed quickly into the dry clothes, noting that the gi was indeed too big. It left a rather wide opening in the front, exposing most of his chest. It made him uncomfortable, especially given that some of the scars could be seen. Although most of them could pass for him just being an abused child or something, but the bullet would could not really be explained in any way not to arouse suspicion. Unfortunately, there was really nothing that could be done except try to keep it from view, which would mean he would need to keep his right arm close to his body so that the gi would not shift over.

He sighed as he stepped outside the room and blinked when he saw Okina waiting for him while talking with a frustrated Misao and laughing Kaoru. "That _girl_ does absolutely nothing around here, Gramps! You just keep her around because she's pretty."

Okina was laughing in his usual perverted way. "Maybe you're just jealous of her beauty, Misao," Kaoru said smiling.

Misao was fuming, "I would never want to be some pretty thing with no brains! She flirts with anything that walks! No wonder she got the job."

"She just couldn't resist my charms," Okina announced.

"_What_ charms?" Misao muttered. "She only works for an old geezer like you because she wants the money. _And_ she can flirt with any young men that come to the inn. And speaking of young men, where'd Himura go?" Okina pointed behind her, and both Misao and Kaoru turned around to come face to face with golden eyes.

He was staring at them, or rather, mostly Kaoru. She intrigued him, and he loved watching her laugh so happily, even if it was at Misao's expense. He felt them all staring at him, and he shifted uncomfortably. "It's a little big," he said quietly.

Silence.

Finally, Okina spoke, "Let's go have that tea now, Himura. You could use it." Kaoru and Misao watched the two disappear down the hall.

* * *

"Um, did you see that?" Misao asked eventually.

"Hai."

"That's a lot of scars."

"Hai."

"I wonder what they're from. Maybe he was abused as a child."

"Hai."

"I bet he's good in bed."

"Hai."

"I KNEW IT! You're not even listening to me, Kaoru!" Misao exclaimed, looking at her friend, who was still staring down the hallway.

"Huh?"

"I just said Himura's probably good in bed, and you agreed," Misao answered.

"What?!" Kaoru shrieked.

"I _knew_ you weren't listening to me. You were too busy staring at his chest."

Kaoru folded her arms and glared at Misao. "I was not. I was just looking at the—"

"Scars?"

Kaoru nodded. "There were so many."

"So technically, you _were_ admiring his chest."

"Stop it," Kaoru warned, blushing again.

"You have a crush on him. Face it, Kaoru," Misao teased.

"I…I was looking at the _scars_, Misao. That doesn't mean I have a crush. You were looking, too."

"I was looking at them analytically. _You_ were mesmerized. There's a big difference."

"_No_, I was wondering where they came from."

"Who knows? It's really not unusual. Sano has a lot, too," Misao shrugged.

"Yeah, but _Sano_ was a street fighter. And he really doesn't have that many. The number of scars Kenshin had on that front part of his chest probably _equals_ the number of scars on Sano's entire body," Kaoru argued.

"Oh? So you know how many scars Sano has on his entire body? Or were you just counting the scars on Kenshin's chest?" Misao asked slyly.

Kaoru couldn't believe this. Either way she answered, she would be taunted. She decided to plead the fifth and turned on her heel to escape the nuisance that was Misao. It was a lose-lose argument really. And she didn't want to end up admitting to her overly-zealous friend that she did _indeed_ have a crush on a certain redhead _or_ that she had been admiring his rather sculpted chest, despite being littered with scars. The scars somehow only made him even more appealing if that were possible...

* * *

Kenshin felt uneasy when he sat down with Okina. The old man was eyeing him critically, and Kenshin knew what his first comment would be.

"That's a lot of scars, Himura."

Kenshin had prepared for this when he first noticed that the gi did not cover his chest well. "I can't really explain them. But I have had some disturbing dreams of my childhood, and I believe that is where they originated," he replied softly.

"Hmmm, they look a lot like sword wounds." Kenshin winced inwardly. Okina seemed like a sharp man, and Kenshin only hoped that a little twisting of the truth would be enough to convince the old man of his innocence.

"Hai. I think I was a slave once." There was truth to that statement. Kenshin _had_ in fact dreamed of himself as a child, in the custody of slave traders. It wouldn't be unusual for them to attack a slave with swords.

"I apologize if I am making you uncomfortable, Himura," Okina answered, handing him a cup of tea. The redhead reached with his left arm for the cup, which Okina found odd. Normally, one would reach for something with their dominant arm…unless they were hiding something. Okina could have sworn he noticed an unusual scar on Himura's right shoulder earlier when he stumbled out of the room. Was he hiding something?

Okina smiled when Kenshin had a firm hold on the cup and was bringing his left arm back towards himself. At that moment, Okina dropped his cup of hot tea, and Kenshin's free right arm shot out to catch the falling item before it shattered on the ground. Relief turned to dread as he noticed Okina's harsh eyes regarding his right shoulder.

"That's a nice bullet wound there, Battousai."

_Shit_.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know that there haven't been any fight scenes...yet. I've written more pages, but I'm open to suggestions and have been editing a lot. So please review! It is really appreciated!**


	7. A Difficult Request

A/N: There will probably only be one more chapter after this, which I've already written most of, but I left it very open for a sequel or maybe a short story to accompany it. You'll understand what I mean after it's done.

* * *

**Chapter 7: A Difficult Request**

_He knew_. Kenshin stared at the old man in front of him. There wasn't much he could say really. The old man knew who he was, and anything Kenshin said to try to deny it would be pointless.

Okina eyed him carefully, watching the expression of pure horror grace the redhead. It was clear that the boy was trying to decide whether to deny the accusation or submit to the truth. After a moment of silence it became apparent he had chosen the latter.

"Relax," Okina finally said. "I'm not going to tell the others. Yet."

Kenshin remained tense as Okina sat back and picked up his rescued teacup.

"There's really no point in trying to deny anything, Himura. The scars on your body, especially the bullet wound…well, any explanation you try to make up would be ridiculous. Those marks are obviously that of a samurai's blade. And…are those _claw_ marks?"

Kenshin felt extremely uncomfortable as Okina took note of the many marks on his chest. He looked down and saw three distinct lines on his left shoulder that he hadn't really noticed before. They were difficult to see unless someone with a very keen eye was searching for them. Kenshin shrugged, "Honestly, Okina-san, I do not know how most of these came about."

"Ah, you're memory hasn't fully returned then."

"No."

"But you know that you are Hitokiri Battousai?" Okina sounded suspicious. "That doesn't make sense."

Kenshin remained silent. He had an idea as to where this conversation was going, and he didn't like it.

"How did you find that out, Himura?"

"I was told."

"I see. So I am assuming that you have resumed your duties then."

Kenshin once again remained silent. When it was obvious that Okina expected him to comment, he sighed and simply nodded his head.

"And you are staying at the clinic?"

"For now."

Okina raised a brow, "They are allowing you not to return to the inn? That's peculiar. It is certainly making your secret more difficult to keep safe."

Kenshin stared at the old man. Okina wasn't angry after the discovery for some reason. It was as though he had been wary all along and was simply confirming his suspicions. Was it possible that Okina really _would_ keep his secret?

"Now," Okina began. "Here are my thoughts, as I can see you are confused. I do not intend on telling the others about your identity because I do not wish to get involved. However, I do not believe you should remain at the clinic for much longer. Your presence there will endanger the lives of those around you. It is best that you return to the inn as soon as you are ready."

Kenshin finally released the breath he had been holding and visibly relaxed.

"I wouldn't relax yet if I were you. I'm not letting you off the hook that easily," Okina continued.

Kenshin immediately re-tensed and gaped at the old man.

"Don't look at me like something just sprouted out of my head! I think that it's perfectly reasonable for me to request something of you in exchange for keeping this secret of yours," Okina sniffed. "You're getting off quite easily, especially considering the circumstances."

The redhead eyed him warily, unsure of how to feel at the moment. On one hand, it was good that Okina was willing to leave the matter alone for now. But on the other hand, what kind of request would the crazy old man ask of him?

"Now, I understand that you and Kaoru-chan have known each other for several weeks now and have grown quite close, am I right?" Okina began.

Kenshin's face flushed red, and his amber eyes shot to the floor in an attempt to hide his embarrassment by the personal question. "I guess," he answered quietly.

"I can tell she is growing quiet fond of you. I've never really seen her so happy. There's a twinkle in her eye that had been missing ever since the death of her father. And I believe you are the reason for that." Kenshin's body was stiff under Okina's scrutinizing gaze. "Kaoru-chan is the type who wears her heart on her sleeve. She trusts everyone and is always happy to find the good in people. Unfortunately, she becomes so focused on the good qualities, however few, and she tends to ignore the negative in people. It is both a blessing and a curse."

Kenshin nodded. He had noticed Kaoru's tendency to only see the good in people. It made her quite endearing, and it was one of the reasons he was drawn to her. He felt that her innocence would allow him to continue working for the Ishin Shishi if only he were allowed to bask in her purity during the day. It gave him a way to escape the terrors of the night and forget whatever horrific things he had done. He sighed and continued to eye the man before him, noting his weary expression.

Okina took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was to say next. "It is because of Kaoru-chan that I must ask a difficult thing of you, Battousai."

Kenshin shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not liking the tone of Okina's voice. It was rare for him to change his normally emotionless mask, but this conversation with Okina was unnerving him.

"I can tell that you have strong feelings for Karou-chan, am I correct?" When the redhead remained silent, blood-red bangs covering his eyes, Okina took it as affirmation and continued. "Your life as an assassin cannot be hidden forever, and it would inevitably put Kaoru-chan in danger. No matter how much you try to hide it, danger will come searching for you. You cannot protect her."

Okina's harsh words stirred the redhead out of his stillness, and his amber eyes widened in surprise while remaining focused on the floor. "No matter how much you care for her, the best thing for you to do is…stay away from her."

_Stay away from her_. Those last four words echoed in his mind. How could he possibly stay away from the one thing keeping him sane? He didn't know about his past, and he barely understood his present. Kaoru was the only person who understood how he felt. Her smile was the only thing that made him happy. How was he supposed to let go of his lifeline and allow himself to leave her? The weight of Okina's words was expressed in the horror etched on Kenshin's face.

Okina watched as the redhead raised his head and stared at him, pain clearly evident in his features. However, Okina shoved away any sympathy he had for the boy and cleared his throat. "I understand that you are probably shocked by what I am asking of you. However, I want you to understand. Kaoru-chan is very dear to me, as is her safety. Your presence will only put her in harm's way."

"I would never hurt her," Kenshin whispered.

"I am not suggesting that you would intentionally harm her. There are others who would come after her if they knew of her importance to you."

"I would protect her," he said firmly, desperation evident in his voice.

Okina sighed, "You cannot always be there to protect her. Some things just happen, and you cannot possibly save everyone from danger all of the time. You can't always protect the ones you love."

The last sentence Okina uttered was said in a way that confused Kenshin. He couldn't tell if the old man was referring to something that happened to himself or if he knew something the redhead didn't. Either way, it was a true statement, and Kenshin couldn't deny that he probably wouldn't be able to protect Kaoru from everything. He couldn't possibly be there all the time to make sure she was safe.

"If you truly love her, then you know what to do."

Kenshin nodded slowly. "I understand."

"You have three days. Three days before you should be out of the clinic and back at the inn. I don't know what you want to tell Kaoru and the others, but either come up with something believable or leave them a note."

"Is that all?" Kenshin asked quietly after a moment.

Okina nodded and took a sip of his tea casually. Kenshin stood up silently and headed for the door. Pausing upon opening the shoji, he said, "I'm sorry I can't be the one to protect her." And the shoji shut again quickly, leaving Okina alone in the room to his thoughts.

The old man shook his head in frustration. It had been a lose-lose situation from the start. On one hand, he could force Kaoru and Battousai apart so that Kaoru would never learn of his dark side and remain the naive, innocent girl she has always been. She would be able to continue on with the fond memories of the young redheaded boy without those memories being tainted by the truth. She would be safe, even if it broke her heart to watch him leave her. It was better than her losing her life. On the other hand, Okina could allow Kaoru and the assassin to grow closer, giving the couple temporary happiness. But that would be short-lived as the redhead's past would catch up to him quickly. In which case, Kaoru would be hurt and possibly…well, he didn't want to think about that.

Kenshin may not know about Tomoe yet, but Okina had heard the rumors. And his spy network had more than enough information about the tragedy to make anyone's blood run cold. _No_, Okina thought. _I could never forgive myself if I allowed Kaoru-chan to get in such a bloody situation like Tomoe-san_. The incident with Tomoe only proved further that no matter how much Kenshin loved someone, he could never save them from his bloody past. Even his own wife fell victim to his blade.

Okina was sure now that he had made the right decision. Kaoru may be in pain for a while after Kenshin disappears. But at least she would be alive and safe. Besides, she would probably be returning to Tokyo in a few weeks.

* * *

Kenshin felt terrible. No, that was an understatement. He was in complete and total misery. The first few days after waking up with amnesia, he had been happy. True, he didn't know anything about himself, but as it turned out, that was for the best. He had been happy just being with Kaoru and enjoying their simple days together. Then, he discovered more about his past and was thrown into a world he didn't fully understand. He was a shadow assassin, apparently, and while everything _felt_ right, he still didn't _know_ anything. After a few days of assassinations, he managed to shut out the pain during the day because of Kaoru's presence. Her never-ending smile always managed to help him forget the nightmares.

But now he was being told that he had to let go of his one happiness. And the idea was killing him. The only way he'd be able to keep his sanity intact would be for him to block out all his emotions. He would need to remain an indifferent, emotionless mask if he wanted to do his job successfully. He would really miss Kaoru's smiling face. Yet there was a strange feeling in his gut that told him it was for the best. It was an uneasy feeling that told him that leaving her would truly be the only way to protect her and keep her happy. How would she react once she discovered who he truly was? _What_ he truly was? Would she be so eager to smile at a cold-hearted hitokiri? Common sense told him that was highly unlikely. _Truly only a fool would love an assassin_, he thought bitterly.

* * *

The rest of the day was uneventful, but Misao was relentless about teasing Kaoru. About what, Kenshin had no idea. But whatever it was, he felt that he had something to do with that, especially since Kaoru seemed to blush every time she saw him. This was really not helping his current predicament.

Immediately after dinner, Kenshin excused himself, mumbling about wanting to put on dry clothes that actually fit him. His clothes from earlier were still wet. It had been raining all day, so there was no sun to help air dry his gi and hakama. Hoping to make a quick getaway, Kenshin stood up quietly while everyone was bickering and made for the door. As he was about to open the shoji, a voice stopped him.

"Kenshin? Where are you going?" Kaoru had stood up and looked at him worriedly. "Is anything wrong? You were rather quiet at dinner."

"Huh? N-No, I'm fine," he replied as he realized how close Kaoru was to him.

She put a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Are you sure?"

"Hai."

"Where are you going then?" She looked at him with concern, clearly not buying his answers.

"The clinic."

"Now? But it's still raining outside, and it's getting dark. It's not safe."

"I'll be fine."

"But Ken--," she pleaded.

"I'll be fine," he repeated with more force. He closed his eyes as Kaoru's face scrunched up in frustration. He wasn't being very clear with her, but he had a job to do tonight. Rain was not going to prevent him from completing his task. But Kaoru's worried expression and concern for his well being tugged annoyingly at his heart. She was making it even more difficult for him to do as Okina asked by continuing to show care for him.

"Maybe Sano could go with you," she suggested. "That way you won't go back alone. I'd feel better knowing you'd have someone to help protect you."

Kenshin resisted the urge to smirk and roll his eyes. She was worried that he'd be endanger by himself at night...ironic, considering _he_ was the reason people needed to be wary about traveling alone in the dark.

Looking into her eyes, he said soothingly, "Kaoru, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'm just tired and would like to wear dry clothes that actually fit me." With his last remark, he gestured to the overly large gi he was donning.

To his surprise, Kaoru giggled, a blush once more creeping to her cheeks. "It _is_ a bit big on you, isn't it?"

Kenshin nodded sheepishly, grateful that she might let him go now.

Kaoru sighed, "Okay. You have my permission to leave then."

Kenshin smiled meekly and slid open the shoji. As he stepped into the hallway, he felt a light tug on his gi and paused mid-step. "Please be careful," came a faint voice. He gave a curt nod without turning around and disappeared silently down the hallway.

Kaoru watched him go before turning around to go back into the room and join the others. "Mmpf!"

Kaoru stumbled backwards briefly and opened her eyes to see whom she had bumped into. Sano was standing in front of her. "What are you doing out here, Jou-chan?"

"Oh, I was just saying bye to Kenshin," she replied, straitening herself out.

Sano looked at her suspiciously. "And where was _he_ going?"

"Back to the clinic," Kaoru replied, biting her lip. She was worried about him, but she didn't want anyone else to know that.

"At night…in the rain…by himself?" Sano asked, more as a statement than a question. His eyes narrowed. "That seems a bit odd."

Kaoru shrugged, "He was tired and wanted to wear dry clothes that fit him." She repeated the same answer Kenshin had given her. Yet somehow it seemed a bit more absurd when she said it than when it had come from Kenshin's mouth. It had been a rather dumb reason for the redhead to travel all the way back to the clinic like that just for a different set of clothes. But he was stubborn, so she didn't want to press the issue.

Okina noticed their quiet conversation and called out from the corner of the room, "Sanoske-chan, why don't you have some sake with me?"

The gangster was immediately pulled from his suspicious thoughts at the idea of sake. "Sure thing, old man!" he cheered, plopping himself before Okina. The old man allowed himself a sigh of relief. He didn't want Sano to get too suspicious. It would be best if the redhead remained innocent in the eyes of these new friends of his.

* * *

Kenshin flew through the streets at a rapid pace, ducking through the shadows, avoiding the rain, and occasionally running along the rooftops. He was a master of stealth, as he discovered, and he wanted to reach the clinic without being spotted or interrupted. He managed successfully, and he was grateful that neither Megumi nor Dr. Gensai were around when he snuck into his room. He fetched the daisho and changed into a more fitting gi and hakama. The overly large clothing hadn't really bothered him that much in reality, but he needed some kind of excuse to leave the Aoiya earlier. He'd rather keep up the illusion of his innocence than sneak off wordlessly, although he would have done so if necessary. He didn't want to worry Kaoru any more than she already was. And Sano was still suspicious. The young man was clearly torn between being his friend and accusing him of harboring some deep dark secret. With the exception of Okina, Sano appeared to be the only one who was skeptical of him. It was a little ironic that Sano was constantly being chastised for questioning Kenshin about his whereabouts as if he had done something wrong. Little did the others know that Sano was actually quite justified in his apprehension. Yet the gangster seemed to still be trying to make friends with him, most likely to appease Kaoru.

Kenshin pulled on his arm guards and secured the daisho at his waist before disappearing into the night. The rain had let up substantially, and it was early enough that Kenshin would have some time before the job. He headed towards the outskirts of the city, his feet leading him as if by instinct. The path brought him to a small clearing in a dense forest. Some of the trees were cut cleanly in half, and the ground was disturbed as if a great wind had lifted the rocks from their resting place. It only took momentary observation for the hitokiri to realize that this was his work. This was the place where he used to go to ease his mind through a complicated kata.

He took a deep breath and felt the cool air rush around him. He was already beginning to feel more relaxed. Readying himself, he drew his katana and began the motions that were so ingrained in him. He wasn't surprised at the ease at which he wielded the blade. The assassinations and fights he had done in the past few days already confirmed everything he had been told. The blade seemed to just be an extension of his arm. His lightening reflexes, keen observations, and propensity to stay in the shadows added to his confirmation. After befalling a few trees and uprooting more rocks from the ground, Kenshin landed gracefully and sheathed the katana in a fluid motion. Looking up to the sky, he was aware that it was time for him to set out on his mission. He stealthily headed in the direction towards the city.

It took about thirty minutes for him to reach the shrine, and he hid behind it in the shadows of the alley. He allowed the mask to settle about his face, and he stowed away all of his emotions. He was a hitokiri, and he had a job to do. Soon he heard soft voices, followed by a boisterous laugh. A fat man was walking down the street with three bodyguards surrounding him. It was his target, and none of them were aware of his presence. Finally stepping out of the shadows, he stood before them calmly and drew his katana silently. "I have come to deliver tenchu." He spoke quietly, but his voice cut through the cold air like the blade in his hand. The guards immediately stood before their charge and readied themselves for the attack. Kenshin could feel their weak ki and thought how useless it was for them to even attempt to fight back. However, in an instant, he flew forward and dispatched of the first two guards without effort. The third man looked terrified, and the target was unable to call for additional help while frozen in fear. With a swift flick of the wrist, Kenshin slashed the third guard from shoulder to hip in a swift kill and turned to the fat man. He had fallen and was backed up against the wall. Kenshin noticed with disgust that the man had apparently soiled himself. Before the man could let out a scream, Kenshin put him out of his misery by granting him a quick beheading with his godlike speed. He flicked the blood off his blade and sheathed it, turning back down the dark alley to leave the cleanup to the Ishin who's ki he felt nearby.

He headed towards the clinic and wondered idly if anyone would be there. He had managed to sneak in effortlessly on the previous nights due to his skills as a shadow assassin, but the secrecy was wearing him down. Okina's words were resounding in his head, and he knew that, although he didn't want to leave Kaoru, it would be for the best. He didn't know how long he would be able to keep up this act anyway. He felt pained every time she smiled at him because he knew that smile would not grace her face if she knew who he really was. It was cruel to keep lying to her like that; she would be better off having him just as a pleasant memory. They hadn't really known each other that long anyway.

* * *

The next day, Kenshin awoke early and prepared breakfast as usual. He tried to keep his mind off the previous night's events. The job hadn't been that difficult, especially since there had fortunately only been three bodyguards. The redhead set the food out for the rest of the guests in the clinic, but merely grabbed a rice ball for himself before heading out the door. He wanted to speak with Katsura as soon as possibly, preferably before the occupants of the clinic woke up to distract him. He was dreading having to return to the inn.

He stealthily entered the inn and immediately felt several pairs of eyes on him. It was unnerving that all these people seemed to know who he was, but he himself had no idea. It was even more disturbing how they stayed away at such a distance as if in fear. He could sense their unease in their ki, but he kept his face in a mask and headed straight for Katsura's room. He knocked gently, and it took only a few moments before he was met with the handsome face of his superior.

"Katsura-san," he said quietly, bowing.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd come today. Please come in and sit," the man motioned, gesturing towards the center of the room.

The redhead took a seat in front of his boss and waited for further instructions in silence. Katsura eyed him for a moment before commenting, "Your assignment was very successful last night. Good work."

Kenshin nodded in acknowledgment but didn't say anything.

"I have another one for you tonight," Katsura continued, pulling a black envelope out of his gi and handing it to the redhead's outstretched hand. Kenshin took the envelope and secured it inside his gi. The man watched the redhead's actions and noticed that he was tenser than usual. To any ordinary person, he would seem to be expressionless, but the commander knew those amber eyes well. And he could tell they were troubled. "Is there something that you wish to speak to me about?" he asked.

Kenshin took a deep breath before raising his head to face Katsura. "I will be returning to the inn in the next few days."

Katsura nodded, "Okay, I will make sure your room is ready today. May I ask why you decided to come back so soon?"

"Okina-san of the Oniwabanshu discovered my identity. He said I should leave the clinic."

Katsura's brows furrowed in confusion, "He's letting you go just like that?"

Kenshin nodded, "He promised he would not reveal my identity."

"And why not? That seems surprising to me. Is there something you arent' telling me?" he asked curiously. It would be odd for anyone to let the country's most dangerous assassin off the hook that easily.

Kenshin looked hesitant but then sighed softly. "He says I can't protect her. He says I should let her keep the innocent memory of me so she'll be safe."

The commander closed his eyes. He felt a tug in his heart; this would have been Tomoe all over again. As much as he wanted rest for his prized assassin, he knew that it could never be while the war was still going on. Perhaps the old man was right in trying to protect whoever this girl was. Perhaps she should just live with the fond memory of an innocent red-haired boy that appeared unable to hurt a fly. The truth hurts, and if she for some reason found it within herself to forgive him and try to stay by the hitokiri, it would only be the death of her. No matter what Kenshin does to protect the ones he loved, they would get hurt. That was inevitable, and it was only proved in the tragedy that was Yukishiro/Himura Tomoe.

"He's right," Katsura admitted finally. He saw the pained expression that flashed across the youth's face before being quickly covered by the mask. "But the war will not last forever. It will come to an end soon, and when that happens, perhaps you can return to this young lady. Then she can heal that broken heart of yours."

Kenshin looked up at him with distant hope reflecting in his amber depths. Katsura continued, "Your services will help the war come to an end sooner rather than later. And we look forward to your return here."

The redhead nodded, taking that as a dismissal. He stood and disappeared into the hallway. He pulled the black envelope from his gi, memorized its contents, and promptly burned it before heading back to the clinic.

* * *

That night, no one was around as they had gone to Aoiya again. He decided to write a note to Kaoru, letting her know he would return later. He didn't want her worrying about him. It always surprised him how much he cared for her after such a short period of time.

It was nearly seven o'clock, so he quickly scribbled a note and noticed his handwriting was rather messy. He sighed, relieved that he wasn't a writer. He placed the note by the food he had prepared in the kitchen where he was sure Kaoru would see it.

He changed in his room, and stuck the swords through his belt. He had perfected sneaking out of the clinic at this point, and even in the broad daylight, no one would ever notice him. He made his way through the alleys of Kyoto with an air that promised death. Someone else would die that night.

* * *

It was almost nine already, and they were starving. Okina had food at the Aoiya, but Sano and Yahiko had managed to scarf it all down before the girls got there so they decided to eat at the clinic. Walking into the kitchen, Kaoru could smell the food.

"Oh, I think Kenshin made us food already," Kaoru exclaimed. "I wonder where he ran off to." She put her hands on her hips.

Misao started to dish herself a bowl of rice when she noticed the note. "Hey, I think it's a note from Kenshin. _My dearest Kaoru, I just wanted to confess my love for you. Your eyes are like sapphires that shine in the moonlight, your smile is--_."

"That is _not_ what it says MIsao, and you know it!" Kaoru screeched, reaching for the note in vain.

Misao was laughing hysterically. "I know, I know, but that's what you _want _it to say, isn't it?"

Kaoru opened her mouth to object but instead turned bright red. "N-no, I…"

"Face it, Kaoru, you have a crush on him! I mean, he is quite attractive, so don't be embarrassed. Even if you _could_ beat him up…"

"What does the note _actually_ say, Misao?" Kaoru asked, trying to hide the blush that was only making her feel hotter.

"It just says that he is running an errand and made dinner for you. Says not to worry about waiting up for him."

"Oh," Kaoru said, her disappointment clearly visible.

"Don't worry, Kaoru, he obviously cares about you. Besides, he put a little heart next to your name."

"He did?!" Kaoru's face lit up.

"No," Misao laughed. "But I'm telling you, it's a good thing he isn't a writer because his handwriting is absolutely terri—." Misao suddenly went pale and she stared at the note in her hands.

"Misao?" Kaoru asked concerned. "Misao, what's wrong?"

"K-Kaoru. The handwriting."

Kaoru eyed her curiously and reached to grab the note from her friend's trembling outstretched hand. She glanced at Misao one last time before looking down at Kenshin's note. Her eyes immediately went wide as she saw the familiar chicken scratch.

"It…It's the same. It's exactly the same." Kaoru pulled the other note from inside her kimono and held her breath. She held the two notes up next to each other and saw that they were indeed identical.

"So no detective work afterall," Misao muttered quietly.

Kaoru felt her knees begin to shake. "Wh-what does this mean?" she asked, looking helplessly at Misao, who appeared just as shocked as her. "A sheath to hold back the madness? Why would he write that?"

"Kaoru," Misao said quietly. "I don't know."

"Wait. Maybe he has a brother or something? They'd probably write alike."

"Oh! You're right, that would make more sense," Misao agreed with a sudden smile. Neither of them wanted to think that the redhead would have written something so dark. "Then he would have someone looking for him."

"But no one's come yet," Kaoru countered slowly.

"Perhaps his brother doesn't know what happened to him."

"Hmmm, that's possible."

"We could ask him," Misao said hopefully.

Kaoru shook her head, "He doesn't know anything about his past, so how could he know if he had a brother?"

"Oi, Jou-chan! So you girls got some food after all?" Sano called. He had been sent to fetch Misao and expected to run into the two girls giggling and causing trouble at the clinic as usual. But the sight that greeted him was the last thing he expected.

The two girls were speaking in hushed tones. They were pale, and Kaoru was clutching two notes in her shaking hands.

"What're you doing?" He asked slowly.

"N-nothing," Kaoru said, slapping a smile on her face and shoving the notes back into her kimono.

Sano watched her suspiciously, "What's on those papers?"

Kaoru opened her mouth to speak, but Misao quickly stepped in, "Oh, they were just love notes from Himura. Itai!"

Misao squealed as Kaoru promptly stepped on her foot. Kaoru blushed furiously at Sano's amused expression.

"Love notes, eh? Didn't think the kid had it in him."

"They're not love notes," Kaoru said dryly. "He was just telling me that he prepared dinner and that we shouldn't wait up for him."

"He's gone?" Sano asked, raising an eyebrow. "Where to?"

Kaoru shrugged, "He didn't say."

"That's odd."

"How so?"

"Come on, Jou-chan, where could he possibly be going at this time of night?"

"It really isn't that late, Sano."

"Yeah, whatever. But I'm telling you that guy's hiding something."

"Sano, you really should be more trusting. You have absolutely no reason not to trust him."

"No reason?! How could you say that?"

"He hasn't done _anything_!"

Misao watched the exchange as she nursed her now swelling foot. Kaoru was clearly getting upset with Sano's distrust of the redhead. Misao smiled knowingly. It was rather obvious Kaoru was developing feelings for Himura, even if she would never admit it. Of course, when Misao had joked earlier about the letter expressing Kenshin's undying love, Kaoru had blushed a million shades of red. "So obvious," Misao muttered to herself in amusement.

* * *

Kenshin snuck back into the clinic. The mission had involved several more people than expected because his target had eight bodyguards with him. But he had finished it cleanly and without difficulty. Honestly, all of his missions had been relatively simple. No one had been able to so much as scratch him.

The redhead shook his head in bitter amusement. When he had first woken up in the clinic, unaware of his surroundings and knowing only his name, he firmly believed himself to be some weak child with no skill at anything. He wasn't sure if he was relieved to discover that he actually had a talent that was apparently unparalleled by any other or horrified to discover that he had _this_ talent that was apparently unparalleled by any other.

As he stripped out of his gi and hakama, he thanked kami that there was no blood on the cloth. He was getting better at avoiding any splattering, although sometimes it was inevitable. He hid the swords and armguards back in the medicine box in the corner of the room and adjusted his sleeping yukata when he heard voices down the hall.

He could sense three familiar ki and decided to make his way towards the kitchen. He paused in the shadows to overhear their conversation. Kaoru was apparently arguing with Sano about something.

Kenshin smiled when he heard Kaoru curse at Sano yet again. He was about to leave when he heard his name.

"Seriously, Sano, Kenshin is harmless. I'm sure he had a perfectly good reason to be gone tonight."

"Look, Jou-chan, nothing _good_ can come out of sneaking out at night," Sano countered.

Kenshin went still. What if they suspected something? Sano already did, and it was vital that Kenshin keep his identity a secret, even from his new friends. He listened silently as the conversation continued.

"Sano, he's probably just insecure right now. He still doesn't know anything about his past, and here we all are. I'm sure it's uncomfortable."

"Hmph."

Kenhsin took deep breath and gritted his teeth. It was going to take a lot of convincing on his part to make them believe he was just a harmless, insecure, little redhead. This would require both a lot of bending the truth and potentially some white lies.

Stepping out of the shadows, Kenshin stretched his arms and faked a yawn. He kept one eye shut and pretended to have just woken up. Squinting against the light of the kitchen, he peered at the three who turned to look at him with surprise. "Gomen," he said quietly. "I thought I heard voices."

Kaoru blinked, "Kenshin! Where were you?"

"Sleeping," he stated, as if it were obvious.

"She meant earlier," Sano said with a hint of annoyance.

"Ah," Kenshin said in innocent realization. He scratched the back of his head absently, "I just wanted to get a bit of fresh air. I've had a lot to think about."

"Like what?" Sano asked with the same tone.

Kenshin tried his best to look sheepish and turned his eyes to the ground, shifting his feet uneasily. "Well….I've just been trying to figure it all out. I mean…no one's come yet."

Kaoru watched him shift under their gazes, and her heart melted. She looked pointedly at Sano, who was suddenly pale.

"Oh, right," the gangster said. "Sorry, Kenshin. I didn't mean to be so accusing."

Sad eyes appeared from beneath the red bangs. "It's okay, Sano. I haven't been very honest with you, but there's nothing more I can really say. If I knew more," he began, letting his words trail off into silence.

His words were technically not lies, despite his blatant vagueness. However, they had the desired effect as all three of the people in the kitchen were now eyeing him with sympathetic eyes. It was in that moment that he realized he was growing far too much of an attachment to these people, and they were growing too concerned for his well-being in return. When he saw Kaoru's concerned eyes, he immediately stiffened his resolve. He wasn't going to heed Okina's request to leave in three days. He would leave tonight.

It didn't take long to gather his meager belongings. He left the medicine chest empty as he didn't have a use for it. It wouldn't seem that out of place, especially given that he was staying in a medical clinic. He pulled on the arm guards and secured the daisho at his waist yet again and drew out the simple note he had written to thank everyone for their services. There was no way he could repay Dr. Gensai or Megumi for all their help, nor could he ever repay the others for their friendship. They had been so trusting and so caring of someone who was not deserving of their kindness. They had no idea who he truly was.

He wished he had the courage to say goodbye to Kaoru in person. She at least deserved that, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not to mention that she would demand to know why he was leaving, and he couldn't tell her the truth. She would probably see through his lies; she knew him the best after all. It was better this way, and even if she hated him for leaving, in the long run it would probably save her life. He couldn't bear losing her.

The redhead gently placed the note on the folded up futon that he left in the center of the room. He had never used it except when he was unconscious immediately after the accident, having preferred to remain propped up against the wall with the katana on his shoulder. No one ever saw the swords in his room even when they tried to come to his room while he was sleeping. He could always sense their ki well before they reached the shoji, and he was always sure to stow away the katana before they opened the door. At the inn, however, he would be able to walk in with blood-drenched clothes, he could carry the daisho at his waist at all times (which he found incredibly comforting), and he wouldn't have to hide his identity. It was bittersweet to say the least. He wouldn't be able to pretend to be someone else.

As he left the inn and made his way through the shadows towards the inn, he briefly wondered if he'd ever be able to have friends like the ones Kaoru had. They were like a mixed up family, but it was the closes thing to one he had ever had. Flashes of his past through his nightmares in the past few weeks had given him insight to that. It was clear that he barely even had a childhood. His parents died of cholera when he was very young, then he was sold to slave traders before he was rescued by a large swordsman who taught him the Hiten Misturugi ryu. He remembered getting into a fight with his master and leaving to join the Ishin Shishi. But his time with the Ishin remained blurry. Sometimes he got flashes of fights, assassinations, and his fellow revolutionaries. Katsura's face, as well as Ikumatsu's, were familiar to him now, and he had even briefly recognized a few of the frightened stares form his comrades the day before when he entered the inn. But one particular faded memory continued to plague his mind and stab his heart repeatedly. There was the face of a beautiful woman with dark haunted eyes that continued to enter his nightmares. He felt like her name was on the edge of his tongue, but he couldn't' quite pinpoint it. Every time she popped in his head, he thought of snow, blood, and white plums. None of it made any sense. And the fact that both Katsura and Okina told him that he wouldn't be able to protect the one he loved didn't do anything to ease his nerves. There was something about his past, and they knew about it.

When he entered the inn, it was filled with people as usual. Some men were just getting back from nightly activities, whether involving gambling, prostitutes, or fighting. They eyed him warily, noting the daisho at his waist. He wasn't particularly in the mood to talk, so he settled for fixing them with an amber glare. It appeared to be the reaction that they expected, and they backed off immediately. Suddenly, a woman came hurrying up to him, shoving a parcel of food in his hands before he could object.

"Okami-san," he said without thinking. He recognized the innkeeper and her worried look.

She shook her head and threw a fit, "I was worried sick about you, Himura-kun. I'm glad you're back. Now go to your room, eat, and go to sleep. You look way too skinny, and you obviously need rest."

She started shooing him upstairs, and he found himself shoved into his room without a word. Somehow it didn't seem odd at all that she was the only person unafraid of him, with the exception of Katsura of course. He looked at the food and shook his head. He wasn't hungry. Leaning against the wall of his room, he looked around, taking in the atmosphere. There was a futon rolled up in the corner, clearly unused. A few books were stacked by the wall, which he recognized as his own. There was also a small trunk that he presumed was filled with his belongings. The room was beginning to feel more and more familiar to him by the second. Cautiously, he approached the trunk, trying to shake the feeling of dread that had settled over his small body. He tried to tell himself that it was just full of some clothes – tattered gis and hakamas, arm guards, a straw hat…But he couldn't help but wonder. He pictured a delicate purple show that he had seen draped about the woman in his dreams. He wanted it desperately, for unknown reasons. He wanted to open the trunk, grab the shawl, and hug it to his chest.

He reached his long fingers to the latch and gently lifted the lid. Staring at the contents, two things immediately caught his eye --- a top and the shawl. Quickly, he snatched the fabric and wrapped it around his neck. The heavy scent of white plums filled the air, and he felt his body relax as he took a seat back against the wall. He had recognized the top as well, but at the moment, the shawl was all he wanted.

It had been weeks since he had been plagued with these images. The name of the woman taunting him as it remained foggy in his mind. But as he sat there in dark, he whispered it. "Tomoe." With the name, a flood of images and emotions came rushing back to him. The sudden memory of his dead wife renewed the sadness that he had forgotten over the past few weeks. He could no longer forget his past, and he couldn't hide from it. His throat grew dry, and a single tear fell down his scarred cheek.

He would never know the happiness that Kaoru was blessed to have. It was no wonder that Okina wanted him to leave. His past would only taint her innocent, and his presence in her life would surely cause her end. It had with Tomoe. No matter how much he had loved her, she was still killed for it in the end…by his own sword. He shut his eyes and grit his teeth in frustration. He couldn't even claim that one of his enemies had killed her for revenge. The only one to blame was himself.

He could only hope that one day he would be able to experience happiness again, even if it was short-lived. He was aware that the moment he had accepted this job, he was cursed. He was doomed to live in condemnation, constantly reminded of his sins as the hitokiri. But maybe Katsura was right. When this was all over, maybe he could go back to Tokyo and see his friends. Even if at least to see Kaoru's smiling face one last time.


End file.
